


Triad

by GlassThreads



Category: Undertale
Genre: Accepting emotions, Character Development, Denial, Determination, Fear, Flawed characters, Friendship, Inner Timeline, No Knowledge of Resets, No One Is Perfect, Pacifist Spoilers, Pacifist Timeline, Suppressing emotions, genocide spoilers, genocide timeline
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-08-14 12:38:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 49,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8014327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlassThreads/pseuds/GlassThreads
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Welcome to Triad. <br/>Three timelines intrinsically connected with each other, in a way that while not obvious at first, is essential for any of them to exist. </p><p>Triad is an Undertale fanfiction seeking to explore alternative character interpretations, the primal emotion of fear, and the positive and negative consequences that each action brings about. <br/>What your best friend's life worth to you? And what is your own life worth to you?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1.1 Inner

**Triad  
** Arc 1: Ruins  
Part 1 

_Inner_

When the human fell into the Underground, they awoke on a bed of flowers. Golden flowers. They had a rather pleasant scent. 

It was surprising that flowers capable of growing, down here. 

The human stood up, leaning on the stick that had fallen down with them, and toddled forwards uncertainly. The human child was uneasy on their feet, and the stick aided them greatly. 

Things were so similar, and yet the human was unsure why. 

The human entered a new section to the cave, only to discover that they were not alone. 

“Howdy!” 

The stranger was familiar to them. An anthropomorphic goat with bright red eyes, wearing a green and yellow striped sweater, and a golden heart locket. The stranger smiled at them. 

The goat smelled of the golden flowers that had broken the human’s fall. He seemed nice. 

He smiled. 

“I’m Asriel, Asriel the boss monster!” the goat introduced himself. “...You’ve fallen down again, right Chara?” 

The name, like the goat, was familiar to the human. 

“Golly. It’s been a while since you last did that!” Asriel remarked. “...It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. But you haven’t changed! Maybe it wasn’t really that long, it just felt long? Haha!” 

He seemed happy… The human was unsure how to feel about this. 

Asriel clapped his hands together. “...Well, we didn’t change. But I bet a lot of other things did! We should go look around the Underground, Chara!” 

Asriel grabbed the human’s hand, and guided the human forwards, racing along excitedly. 

They came across the facade of a large purple building. Was it that the building’s walls were high enough to meet the distant ceiling, or that the ceiling was low enough to touch the sturdy walls? 

Nevertheless, the shadow of the Ruins loomed above, filling the human with Determination. 

They walked up the steps, through the door, and came to a smaller chamber. There were raised stones in one side of the room, and the door seemed to be closed, blocking them off from the rest of the Ruins. 

Asriel and the human stopped. Asriel turned to the human, smiling assuredly. “Oh, right! I forgot… Mom told me about this. She said the Ruins are full of puzzles, ancient fusions between diversions and doorkeys. One must solve them to move from room to room.” As he spoke, his voice took on a different tone. Older, wiser, motherly. His face changed to match. “Please adjust yourself to the sight of them.” 

The tone and face were familiar to the human. 

Asriel stepped on four of the raised stones in a sequence, and then used a lever next to the door, which opened with a _click._

As the human and Asriel walked through the door, the human noticed an inscription on the wall. Words carved into the ancient violet stone that read ‘Only the fearless may proceed. Brave ones, foolish ones. Both walk not the middle road.’ 

In the next chamber of the Ruins, all along the wall there was a multitude of levers. Next to some of them was neat cursive, written in chalk. 

Asriel walked up to them. “Right. Mom wrote notes of some of the puzzles, to help out other humans who fall.” Asriel smiled brightly at the human. “Of course they need it. They’re not like you, Chara. You’re better than any of them.” 

The human walked up to the levers, taking time to read the cursive beside each one, and pulling the levers labeled as being the correct solutions to the puzzle. When this was done, Asriel and the human proceeded. 

In the next room, there was a cotton dummy. It stared blankly at Asriel and the human. 

Asriel looked over at the dummy. “Mom uses the Dummy over there to teach the other fallen humans about what to do in a FIGHT. She tells them to talk to a Monster who wants to FIGHT them, and then she’ll come rescue them.” Asriel grinned mischievously at the human. “Not like anyone’d attack you though, Chara! And even if they did, you’d be _great_ at handling yourself in a FIGHT!” 

The human stepped towards the Dummy. 

Asriel looked surprised. “You want to try?” 

The human nodded. 

…

They remembered the Dummy. 

_FIGHT. The human stepped forwards, punching the the Dummy’s head clean off. Cotton flew everywhere, up the human’s nose, making them sneeze._

 _ACT. The human greeted the Dummy. The Dummy did not respond._

The human stared blankly at the Dummy. 

Nothing happened. 

“...Come on, Chara,” Asriel said. 

They moves through the corridor beyond the Dummy’s chamber. The human thought that they were supposed to meet someone else… But no one came. 

_FIGHT. Kick the Froggit away. It wants to hurt me. Why else would it FIGHT?_

_ACT. Compliment the Froggit. It doesn’t actually want to hurt me if I ACT the right way._

_It crumbles into a pile of white dust that lies forlornly on the ground._

_It blushes deeply. That makes me laugh._

Asriel stopped in front of what looked like a bridge of spikes over of pool of indiscernible depth, and spun to face the human. “Here’s another puzzle. It’s kind of dangerous, but not if you walk it right!” Asriel paused thinking, then grabbed the human’s hand. “Stay right behind me, Chara!” 

Asriel led the human across the bridge of spikes, walking in a very specific way. The spikes retracted before him, leaving a perfectly safe and flat path. 

Once they crossed the bridge safely, Asriel continued racing across the ground, through the corridors. The human felt like things should be going more… slowly. 

Strange. Why would they feel like that? 

With Asriel’s help, they made it through many different puzzles. Until they finally reached something. 

A black tree. The ground littered with blood red leaves. 

The tree filled the human with Determination. 

It made Asriel’s breath hitch. 

The human turned towards Asriel. He was staring at the tree blankly, his breath shall and quick. 

Concerned for the monster, the human tried taking Asriel’s hand in their own. Asriel’s hand eagerly gripped the human’s, squeezing as tightly as possible as if to confirm that the human was really real. 

With their other hand, the human steered Asriel by the shoulder so he was looking at the human, rather than the tree. 

Asriel’s breath slowly steadied. An uneasy grin crossed his face and he poked the human’s nose. 

“Heh, heh…” His laugh was breathy, and not really there at all. Less a laugh and more an quick exhaling of air. “G-golly, Chara. I just noticed. When’d you get that bandage?”


	2. 1.1 Pacifist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A familiar path is walked, with the same goal many have in mind. But not by one of those you usually see walking it...

**Triad  
** Arc 1: Ruins  
Part 1 

_Pacifist_

When the human fell into the Underground, they awoke on a bed of flowers. Golden flowers. They had a rather pleasant scent. 

It was surprising that flowers capable of growing, down here. 

The human stood up, leaning on the stick that had fallen down with them, and toddled forwards uncertainly. The human child was uneasy on their feet, and the stick aided them greatly. 

Things were so familiar, it made the human smile. 

The human entered a new section to the cave, only to discover that they were not alone. 

“Don’t you have anything better to do?” 

The stranger was familiar to them. A six-petaled yellow flower with simple dot eyes and line mouth, perched on about a foot of bright green stem. The flower smiled at them. 

The flower smelled of the golden flowers that had broken the human’s fall. He _seemed_ nice. 

He smiled. 

Everything flashed. The surrounding area faded into void. The color drained from Flowey. The human felt a strange, unnatural tugging from deep in their chest as a small red heart appeared in front of them, the only spot of visible color. The heart was colored dull red. 

“See that heart?” Flowey asked, cheerful grin still plastered to his face. “That is your SOUL, the very culmination of your being! Your SOUL starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV! What’s LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course! You want some LOVE, don’t you? Don’t worry, I’ll share some with you!” 

Flowey winked, sticking his tongue out. 

Several small white spheres materialized around Flowey, spinning in space. “Down here, LOVE is shared through little white…” He paused. 

Flowey’s expression shifted. The human thought he was still smiling at first, but no… 

Is that a smile? 

“‘Friendliness Pellets,’” Flowey finally finished his sentence. “Are you ready?” 

The quote and quote ‘friendliness pellets’ began slowly converging on the human’s red Soul. “Move around! Get as many as you can!” Flowey advised. 

The human dodged out of the way, their Soul trailing after them. 

Flowey twitched. “Hey buddy, you missed them. Let’s try again, okay?” 

More friendliness pellets appeared, moved at a faster pace towards the human’s SOUL. Nevertheless, the human dodged. 

Flowey’s smile shifted into a scowl. “Is this a joke? Are you braindead? RUN. INTO. THE. BU--” Flowey’s expression and tone shifted back into his overly sappy facade in a heartbeat. “friendliness pellets.” 

The human dodged once more. 

Flowey finally dropped the charade, his face becoming demonic and his voice shaking. “ _You know what’s going on here, don’t you? You just wanted to see me_ suffer.” A ring of the so-called friendliness pellets encircled the human. “ **DIE.** ” 

The ring enclosed on the human. They glanced about, searching for a way of escape while Flowey cackled loudly. Maybe they could jump up at the last second? Or-- 

A fireball smacked into Flowey and he quickly retreated. 

A familiar creature entered the scene. 

She was tall. Very tall. She was wearing a long robe that reached down to her paws, with a familiar sigil sewn on to it. A winged circle above three pointed triangles. She looked like an anthropomorphic goat, with long floppy ears and petite, curved horns. 

The goat rushed over to the human child, comforting them and patting their head. “What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth…” When she had assured herself that the human was okay, she stepped away and smiled comfortingly down at the human. “Do not be afraid, my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come here in a long time. Come! I shall guide you through the catacombs.” 

It occurred to the human that catacombs were tunnels meant for the dead. 

The human followed Toriel as she walked ahead. 

They came across the facade of a large purple building. Was it that the building’s walls were high enough to meet the distant ceiling, or that the ceiling was low enough to touch the sturdy walls? 

Nevertheless, the shadow of the Ruins loomed above, filling the human with Determination. 

They walked up the steps, through the door, and came to a smaller chamber. There were raised stones in one side of the room, and the door seemed to be closed, blocking them off from the rest of the Ruins. 

Toriel explained to the human how the puzzles in the Ruins looked, and the human listened to her attentively. Or, at the very least, they did not interrupt her while she was speaking. Upon being given instructions by Toriel, the human obeyed them, pulling levers as directed. 

“As a human in the Underground, monsters may attack you,” Toriel was saying. “You will need to be prepared for this situation. However, worry not! The process is simple. When you encounter a monster, you will enter a FIGHT. While you are in a FIGHT, strike up a friendly conversation. Stall for time. I will come to resolve the conflict.” She nodded at the other creature in the room, a stuffed, worn looking dummy. “Practice talking to the Dummy. 

The human looked at the the Dummy. It stared blankly back at them. The human stepped towards the Dummy. 

_ACT. The human greeted the Dummy. The Dummy did not respond._

Toriel beamed at the human. “ _Very good!_ You are very good!” 

They moved through the corridor beyond the Dummy’s chamber. While they walked, Toriel mused aloud. “There is another puzzle in this room… I wonder if you can solve it?” 

While the human was walking, something familiar happened. 

Everything flashed. The surrounding area faded into void. The color drained from Flowey. The human felt a strange, unnatural tugging from deep in their chest as a small red heart appeared in front of them, the only spot of visible color. The heart was colored dull red. 

_Froggit attacks you!_

_ACT. Compliment the Froggit. It doesn’t actually want to hurt me if I ACT the right way._

_It blushes deeply. That makes me laugh._

Before the human and the Froggit could interact more, Toriel scared the Froggit off with a rather menacing glare. 

Toriel continued down the corridor, until she stopped in front of what looked like a bridge of spikes over of pool of indiscernible depth, and turned to face the human. “This is the puzzle, but…” She paused, thinking, then took the human’s hand. “Here, take my hand for a moment.” 

Toriel led the human across the bridge of spikes, walking in a very specific way. The spikes retracted before him, leaving a perfectly safe and flat path. 

“Puzzles seem a little too dangerous for now,” Toriel remarked once they crossed the bridge safely. Upon entering the next corridor, Toriel stopped, and faced the human. “You have done excellently thus far, my child. However… I have a different request to ask of you.” She paused for a few moment, worry darting across her face before she managed to replace it with a smile. “...I would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourself. Forgive me for this.” Without another word, Toriel ran out of the human’s sight. 

The human walked forwards, unfazed. Being alone was familiar to them. They walked in silence, the stick they had brought with them held loosely in their right hand as they trailed it across the purple brick floor. 

After several minutes of walking, with only the sound of the human’s breathing for accompaniment, Toriel stepped out from behind a pillar at the end of the corridor. The human’s expression was unsurprised. 

“Greetings, my child,” Toriel told the human. “Do not worry, I did not leave you. I was merely behind this pillar the whole time. Thank you for trusting me.” 

The human gave no response. 

“However, there was another important reason for this excercise,” Toriel continued. “...to test your independence. I must attend to some business, and you must stay alone for a while.” The motherly smile evaporated from Toriel’s face, leaving a look of concern. “Please remain here. It’s dangerous to explore by yourself.” Toriel’s face lit up. “I have an idea! I will give you a cell phone! If you have a need for anything, just call.” Toriel handed the human an old flip phone. They made no comment. “Be good, alright?” 

Toriel turned around and left, more hesitantly this time. 

She did not look back. 

The human wandered forth, ignoring Toriel’s warning to stay put. 

As they walked, they could not shake the sense that all this was familiar. Something they had experienced before. Not something that they knew before, but more like a place they had seen once in a distant dream. 

Not enough memory to be useful, but just enough to let them know they knew the place. 

They encountered many denizens of the Ruins, and though the monsters began the encounter by attacking the human, it rarely took more than a few quick actions to diffuse the situation. 

_Froggit hopped close._

_ACT: Compliment. MERCY: Spare._

_Whimsun approached meekly._

_MERCY: Spare._

_Moldsmal blocked the way!_

_MERCY: Spare._

The human’s wanderings were interspersed with constant calls from Toriel’s cell phone. 

_Ring._

“Hello? This is Toriel. For no reason in particular… which do you prefer? Cinnamon or butterscotch? ...Wait. Do not tell me. Is it butterscotch?” 

The human informed her that their favorite was not butterscotch. 

“Oh… I see. Well, thank you. Goodbye for now.” 

_Ring._

“Hello? This is Toriel. You do not _dislike_ butterscotch, do you? I know what your preference is, but… would you turn up your nose if you found it on your plate? Right, right, I understand. Thank you for being patient, by the way.” 

_Ring._

“Hello? You do not have any allergies, do you? Huh? Why am I asking? No reason… No reason at all.” 

The human managed to successfully navigate their way through the Ruins, relatively uninjured. Even when they encountered a depressed ghost lying in the crimson fallen leaves, they managed to cheer him up and avoid his magical tears for the most part. 

They made their way through the Ruins, until they finally found something. 

A black tree. The ground littered with blood red leaves. 

The tree filled the human with Determination. 

The Ruins had been like walking through the landscape of a distant dream made real. The tree felt familiar, but more like some horrifying fact you had heard long ago and have only now been confronted with. 

The human was focused on the black-barked tree, and did not notice that Toriel was nearby for a few moments. “How did you get here, my child?” 

The human stared blankly at Toriel. 

“Are you hurt?” she asked, checking the human over, before standing up and looking somewhat awed. . “...Not a scratch… Impressive! But still...” Something flickered across her face. “I should not have left you alone for so long. It was irresponsible to try to surprise you like this.” She blinked, realizing what she had just said. ‘Err… I suppose I cannot hit it any longer. Come, small one!”


	3. 1.1 Genocide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another well trodden path, although not for the usual reasons it is taken.

**Triad  
Arc 1: Ruins   
Part 1**

_Genocide_

When the human fell into the Underground, they awoke on a bed of flowers. Golden flowers. They had a rather pleasant scent. 

It was surprising that flowers capable of growing, down here. 

The human stood up, leaning on the stick that had fallen down with them, and toddled forwards uncertainly. The human child was uneasy on their feet, and the stick aided them greatly. 

Things were so different here, and it terrified the human. 

The human entered a new section to the cave, only to discover that they were not alone. 

“Howdy!” 

The stranger was so different from anything they had ever seen A six-petaled yellow flower with simple dot eyes and line mouth, perched on about a foot of bright green stem. The flower smiled at them. 

The flower smelled of the golden flowers that had broken the human’s fall. He seemed nice. 

He smiled. 

“I’m Flowey, Flowey the flower!” the flower introduced himself. “Hmm… You’re new to the Underground, aren’tcha? Golly, you must be so confused.” 

The human nodded. This was not untrue. 

“Someone oughta teach you how things work around here!” Flowey continued. “I guess little ol’ me will have to do it!” 

The human nodded in appreciation. 

“Read?” Flowey asked. “Here we go!” 

Everything flashed. The surrounding area faded into void. The color drained from Flowey. The human felt a strange, unnatural tugging from deep in their chest as a small red heart appeared in front of them, the only spot of visible color. The heart was colored bright red. 

“See that heart?” Flowey asked, cheerful grin spread across his face. It made the human feel better, somehow. “That is your SOUL, the very culmination of your being! Your SOUL starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV! What’s LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course! You want some LOVE, don’t you? Don’t worry, I’ll share some with you!” 

Flowey winked, sticking his tongue out. 

The human nodded, and cupped their hands, reaching out. 

Several small white spheres materialized around Flowey, spinning in space. “Down here, LOVE is shared through little white…” He paused. 

Flowey’s smile shifted slightly. The human took no notice. 

“‘Friendliness Pellets,’” Flowey finally finished his sentence. “Are you ready?” 

The human nodded, and gave Flowey a thumbs-up. 

The friendliness pellets began helpfully moving towards the human. “Move around! Get as many as you can!” Flowey advised. 

The human moved towards where the pellets were congerging, cupping their hands around the small white spheres… Before dropping to the ground, tears leaking from their eyes. The pellets exploded into their cupped hands, causing their palms to turn an angry shade of red, and start bleeding. 

The human dropped to the ground in shock as more friendliness pellets bombarded them. They squeezed their eyes shut tight, and clutched their stick as hard as they could, like a child scared by monsters under the bed would clutch a teddy bear, under the mistaken assumption it would protect them. 

The stick did not protect them. 

“You _idiot!_ ” Flowey’s tone remained as bright and cheery as ever, the words he spoke clashing terribly with it. “In this world, it’s _kill or be killed!_ Why would _anyone_ pass up an opportunity like this!?” 

The human curled up into a ball as a ring of the friendliness pellets encircled them. 

“ **DIE.** ” 

The human was curled up into a ball, and so did not notice a fireball smack into Flowey and cause him to flee, and the friendliness pellets to vanish. 

Nor did they notice the new creature enter the scene. At least, not until she ran to the small human, comforting and healing them. 

The human first flinched from the unexpected physical contact, then looked up at the creature. 

She was tall. Very tall. She was wearing a long robe that reached down to her paws, with a strange sigil sewn on to it. A winged circle above three pointed triangles. She looked like an anthropomorphic goat, with long floppy ears and petite, curved horns. 

She tried hugging the human close, and they stiffened up. “What a terrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent youth…” When she had assured herself that the human was okay, she stepped away and smiled comfortingly down at the human. “Do not be afraid, my child. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come here in a long time. Come! I shall guide you through the catacombs.” 

It occurred to the human that catacombs were tunnels meant for the dead. 

The human uncertainly followed Toriel as she walked ahead. 

They came across the facade of a large purple building. Was it that the building’s walls were high enough to meet the distant ceiling, or that the ceiling was low enough to touch the sturdy walls? 

Nevertheless, the shadow of the Ruins loomed above, filling the human with Determination. 

They walked up the steps, through the door, and came to a smaller chamber. There were raised stones in one side of the room, and the door seemed to be closed, blocking them off from the rest of the Ruins. 

Toriel explained to the human how puzzles in the Ruins looked, and the human stared ahead, not seeming to see anything. They followed the commands Toriel gave them immediately and obediently. They followed after Toriel like a lost puppy, uncertain if they should trust a monster after their experience with Flowey, but suspecting Toriel was at _least_ marginally better than the alternative. 

“As a human in the Underground, monsters may attack you,” Toriel was saying. “You will need to be prepared for this situation. However, worry not! The process is simple. When you encounter a monster, you will enter a FIGHT. While you are in a FIGHT, strike up a friendly c--” 

The human stepped towards the Dummy. 

_FIGHT. They punched the Dummy’s head clean off, scattering cotton everywhere. Cotton flew everywhere, up the human’s nose, making them sneeze._

The Dummy’s remains disintegrated into dust. The human looked confusedly down at their powdered white hands, then looked back up at Toriel, a questioning expression on their face. 

Toriel gave the human a stern look. “Ahh, the Dummies are not made for fighting! They are for talking!” She knelt down, vigorously brushing the dust off the human. The human felt tempted to squirm away, but did not react. “We do not want to hurt anyone, do we…?” 

The human did not want to hurt anyone. But they did not want to be hurt, either. 

“Come now.” They moved through the corridor beyond the Dummy’s chamber. While they walked, Toriel mused aloud. “There is another puzzle in this room… I wonder if you can solve it?” 

While the human was walking, something familiar happened. 

Everything flashed. The surrounding area faded into void. The color drained from Flowey. The human felt a strange, unnatural tugging from deep in their chest as a small red heart appeared in front of them, the only spot of visible color. The heart was colored bright red. 

_Froggit attacks you!_

The human’s breath hitched, and they began hyperventilating. They remembered this happening when Flowey attacked them. 

_FIGHT. Kick the Froggit away. It wants to hurt me. Why else would it FIGHT?_

_It crumbles into a pile of white dust that lies forlornly on the ground._

Dust was all over the human’s shoe and leg now. 

Toriel simply brushed it off, not saying anything about what the human had just done. 

Toriel continued down the corridor, until she stopped in front of what looked like a bridge of spikes over of pool of indiscernible depth, and turned to face the human. “This is the puzzle, but…” She paused, thinking, then took the human’s hand. “Here, take my hand for a moment.” 

Toriel led the human across the bridge of spikes, walking in a very specific way. The spikes retracted before him, leaving a perfectly safe and flat path. 

“Puzzles seem a little too dangerous for now,” Toriel remarked once they crossed the bridge safely. Upon entering the next corridor, Toriel stopped, and faced the human. “You have done excellently thus far, my child. However… I have a different request to ask of you.” She paused for a few moment, worry darting across her face before she managed to replace it with a smile. “...I would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourself. Forgive me for this.” Without another word, Toriel ran out of the human’s sight. 

The human hugged themself tightly, before walking hesitantly forwards. The corridor seemed intimidating to them. Even if they were sort of scared by Toriel, they figured they were far safer with her than without. They walked in silence, their footsteps and breaths echoing off the purple brick walls. 

After several minutes of walking, Toriel stepped out from behind a pillar at the end of the corridor. The human whirled around, startled by this, holding up their stick like a sword. 

“Greetings, my child,” Toriel told the human, trying to sound reassuring. “Do not worry, I did not leave you. I was merely behind this pillar the whole time. Thank you for trusting me.” 

The human gave no response as they lowered the stick. 

“However, there was another important reason for this excercise,” Toriel continued. “...to test your independence. I must attend to some business, and you must stay alone for a while.” The human gave Toriel a look of fear. The motherly smile evaporated from Toriel’s face, leaving a look of concern. “Please remain here. It’s dangerous to explore by yourself.” Toriel’s face lit up. “I have an idea! I will give you a cell phone! If you have a need for anything, just call.” Toriel handed the human an old flip phone. They gave her a hesitant thumbs-up. “Be good, alright?” 

Toriel turned around and left, more hesitantly this time. 

She did not look back. 

The human wandered forth, ignoring Toriel’s warning to stay put. 

As they walked, they could not shake a sense of utter terror. They had not seen where Flowey had gone. He could pop up at any time. Or another monster like him could appear. 

They clutched their stick tightly, ready to use it if they entered a FIGHT. 

They encountered many denizens of the Ruins, and each time, the human hit the monster with the stick as hard as they could before the monster had a chance to attack, causing the monster to explode in white dust. 

The dust was getting everywhere. All over the human’s striped sweater, dusting their hair, getting in their eyes and up their nose to make it hard to see and breath. They coughed the dust out of their lungs and rubbed it out of their eyes. 

_Froggit hopped close._

_FIGHT._

_Whimsun approached meekly._

_FIGHT._

_Moldsmal blocked the way!_

_FIGHT._

The human’s wanderings were interspersed with constant calls from Toriel’s cell phone. 

_Ring._

“Hello? This is Toriel. For no reason in particular… which do you prefer? Cinnamon or butterscotch?” 

The human informed her that their favorite was butterscotch. 

“Oh, I see. Well, thank you. Goodbye for now.” 

_Ring._

“Hello? This is Toriel. You do not dislike butterscotch, do you? I know what your preference is, but… would you turn up your nose if you found it on your plate? Right, right, I understand. Thank you for being patient, by the way.” 

_Ring._

“Hello? You do not have any allergies, do you? Huh? Why am I asking? No reason… No reason at all.” 

The human managed to successfully navigate their way through the Ruins uninjured. Although they were terrified by the revelation that one enemy they fought, a depressed ghost lying on crimson leaves, had been lowering his ‘HP’ ‘just to be polite’. The thought crossed the human’s mind that maybe there are monsters like both Flowey and the ghost, Napstablook. What if there was monster that wanted to hurt them like Flowey, who didn’t want to lower their HP just to be nice? 

...What if Flowey could do what Napstablook did, and they didn’t know because they never even tried to hit Flowey with their stick? 

Nothing they could do then could make a difference, and their death would be certain. 

They made their way through the Ruins, until they finally found something. 

A black tree. The ground littered with blood red leaves. 

The tree filled the human with Determination. 

The tree filled the human with _fear._

They did not know why. It was just a tree, not something that could potentially hurt them. But there was such an aura of sheer _wrongness_ emanating from the tree, permeating the surrounding atmosphere and striking dread deep into the human’s heart. They clutched their stick tightly, backing away from the tree, unable to take their eyes off of its bark, black like the void of space. 

The human was focused on the black-barked tree, and did not notice that Toriel was nearby for a few moments. “How did you get here, my child?” 

The human stared blankly at Toriel. 

“Are you hurt?” she asked, checking the human over, before standing up and looking somewhat awed. “...Not a scratch… Impressive! But still...” Something flickered across her face, as her eyes settled on the human’s dusty stick. “I should not have left you alone for so long. It was irresponsible to try to surprise you like this.” She blinked, realizing what she had just said. ‘Err… I suppose I cannot hit it any longer. Come, small one!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of the time, when people write human taking the Genocide route, it's for one of two reasons.   
> Firstly, because they have been possessed by Chara for whatever reason.   
> Or second, because they've gone through the Pacifist route hundreds of times and are so very, very, bored.   
> I didn't particularly like either explanation for the human's actions. So I came up with one I have seen very rarely, if ever.   
> Fear.   
> You fall down a hole, and the first thing that acts friendly towards you immediately tries to kill you. True, Toriel's there to rescue you. But that doesn't stop other monsters from entering a FIGHT with you. And she does abandon you pretty quickly.   
> Now imagine that scenario, without the reassuring knowledge of how to reset, or the knowledge that a certain set of actions will pacify the monsters. Now put a child in that situation. 
> 
> ...At any rate, the Genocide timeline is by far the most interesting timeline for me to write. It's technically the most easy timeline to understand what is going on, but also the human's actions and their actual personality juxtapose each other rather nicely, I think. You'll see more of their real personality the next time the Genocide timeline rolls around.   
> Also, I've started mentally referring to the humans as 'Inner Runner', 'Pacifist Runner', and 'Genocide Runner', respectively. The last two I sometimes shorten to 'Pac-Runner' and 'Geno-Runner'.


	4. Inner 1.2

**Triad  
** Arc 1: Ruins  
Part 2 

_Inner_

_Seeing such a cute, tidy house in the Ruins gives you determination._

The human followed Asriel into the small, purple cottage. They entered, to find him already waiting for them. 

They took a few moments to look around the house, waves of deja vu crashing onto them. Except, unlike in the Ruins, which had been a neutral form of familiarity like the route you walk to school or work every morning, this was… strange. They could feel two contrasting emotions in the familiarity. 

A feel like home and happiness. 

And a feel like fear and regret. 

It unnerved the human. 

For a moment instead of Asriel there, they saw someone else. Someone like him, but taller, with horns, wearing a long royal purple robe. 

_Why did you…?_

_How could I…?_

“Chara!? Chara, are you okay?” Asriel’s voice broke through the emotions. 

The human found that they had somehow curled into a ball on the floor, clutching their stick tightly. They slowly uncurled, and stood up, lookin at Asriel with confusion and concern. 

“Chara, what happened?” Asriel asked, looking back at the human with concern. 

The human looked down, and shook their head. Even they didn’t know quite what had come over them. How could they explain seemingly random memories and emotions that kept appearing, that had no rhyme or reason yet seemed to belong to the human…? 

Asriel suddenly stepped forwards and hugged the human. The human tensed up, then relaxed, slowly returning the hug. 

It felt like… Something they had experienced before, that had not belonged to them. 

It felt weird. 

They pulled away from Asriel. 

An awkward moment passed, before Asriel broke the silence. 

“...Hey Chara, smell that? I think mom’s making cinnamon pie! That’s your favorite, right?” 

The human shook their head. A look of confusion crossed their face. 

Asriel’s face mirrored the humans. “Huh? Um… I guess we have changed, kind of?” He tried to smile. “...Even if it’s not your favorite anymore, you remember how mom’s pies are really good! Come on, let’s go try it!” 

Asriel took the human’s hand, and slowly led them to the kitchen, before leaving them there and dashing off. Asriel returned with two pillows and a plushy. He set the pillows on the floor, and sat the human down on one. The human was grateful to be sitting. Asriel handed the human the plushy. 

“My favorite’s at the castle, where Dad is. But I know you like all my plushies a lot,” Asriel told the human. 

The human nodded. The plushy was familiar, in a not-overwhelming way. Just faint contentedness coming from this one. 

Asriel grabbed the pie from out of the oven, as well as some plates. He carefully sliced out pieces of the pie placing them on the plates, and offered one of the plates to the human. The human thanked Asriel, and slowly ate the pie. 

The pie was familiar in a contenting way, too. 

The human noticed Asriel smiling at them while they ate their pie. And they suddenly realized that they were smiling too. 

When they were both done, Asriel took the plates and put them in the sink, before gathering up the pillows, and guided the human towards a bedroom, placing the pillows on the bed. 

The human at this point was too tired to register the feelings of happiness coming from the room. They collapsed onto the bed, and vaguely felt Asriel getting in the bed behind them. 

They drifted off to sleep like that. Hugging the plushy Asriel had given them. 

_Chara… Please wake up, Chara. I don’t like this plan anymore…_

_…_

_...I trust you Chara._

_Stay determined…_

The human woke up to find that at some point Asriel had fallen halfway off the bed, taking most of the blankets with him, pooling under his head. His legs were somehow under the human’s side, and the human’s arms were still locked around the plushy. 

Asriel snored in his sleep. 

The human placed the plushy on the bed, and woke up Asriel. 

“Snrrf? Mrr? Oh, g’mornin’ Chara…” Asriel’s mouth gaped as he yawned. 

The human asked Asriel where his mother was. 

“Mom? She’s not here?” Asriel furrowed his brow. “...She should be here. I mean, she’s _always_ here. She never leaves the Ruins, except when--” 

 

Asriel trailed off, his gaze unfocusing for a moment, before he shook his head. “...She’s probably in the house somewhere. Maybe she’s still asleep?” 

The two searched about the house, and after a short period of time they had searched all the rooms. Asriel’s mother was nowhere to be found. 

“...Mom’s gotta be down in the basement. She _does_ go down there sometimes,” Asriel reasoned. 

They headed down the stairs. The human clutched tightly to their stick. 

They _remembered_ this hall. 

Overwhelming guilt was crushing them. 

They didn’t want to be here. 

Asriel looked uncomfortable too. 

_“You wish to know how to return ‘home’, do you not? Ahead of us lies the end of the Ruins. A one-way exit to the rest of the Underground. I am going to destroy it. No one will ever be able to leave again. Now be a good child and go upstairs.”_

_“Every human that falls down here meets the same fate. I have seen it again and again. They come. They leave. They die. You naive little child…If you leave the Ruins… They… **Asgore**... will kill you. I am only protecting you, you understand? ...go to your room.” _

_“Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning.”_

_“You want to leave so badly? Hmph. You are just like the others. There is only one solution to this. Prove yourself… Prove to me you are strong enough to survive!”_

Standing in front of the door was a familiar creature warped horribly. 

She was tall. Very tall. She was wearing a long robe that reached down to her paws, with a familiar sigil sewn on to it. A winged circle above three pointed triangles. She looked like an anthropomorphic goat, with long floppy ears and petite, curved horns. 

Her face was covered by a blocky mess of static. 

The human’s ears were ringing. 

Asriel looked horrified. “ _Mom!?_ ” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter, while I like how it came out, was difficult to write. I had to do something I've never done before. That is, I skipped over it, wrote the next two chapters, and then came back to this one. So I have a buffer somehow?  
> I think this is the fastest for a fanfic I've ever been writing, and I really like how it's been coming out~  
> Right, you guys can handle a little cliffhanger, right? If I keep up this pace you get to find out in three days what happens next. I've waited longer~  
> Also, I dropped a hint as to what the heck is going on in this crazy timeline. Make what you will of it.


	5. Pacifist 1.2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Undertale first anniversary. Have two chapters. Twice the cliffhangers for twice the FUN :D

**Triad  
Arc 1: Ruins  
Part 2**

_Pacifist_

_Seeing such a cute, tidy house in the Ruins gives you determination._

The human followed Toriel into the small, purple cottage. They entered, to find her already waiting for them. 

They took a few moments to look around the house, waves of deja vu crashing onto them. Except, unlike in the Ruins, which had been a neutral form of familiarity like the route you walk to school or work every morning, this was the familiarity of a place in which you had once lived, and dearly loved. 

“Do you smell that?” Toriel asked them, smiling broadly. “Surprise! It is a butterscotch-cinnamon pie! I thought we might celebrate your arrival. I want you to have a nice time living here.” Toriel’s smile shifted to something slightly more teasing. “So I will hold off on snail pie for tonight.” Her expression brightened again. “Here, I have another surprise for you!” 

Toriel headed down a hallway to the right, her soft paws padding first on hardwood floor, and then on soft carpeting. The human followed her. Toriel stopped in front of a door and spun around, a huge smile on her face. “This is it!” she exclaimed. She excitedly took the human’s hand, and led them right to the door. “A room of your own! I hope you like it!” Toriel affectionately rubbed the human’s head. 

The human did not react. 

Toriel suddenly stopped, beginning to glance about, deely sniffing the air. “Is something burning…?” She glanced down at the human. “Um, make yourself at home!” The goat monster quickly dashed away. 

The human opened the door, stepped inside, and promptly stopped in their tracks. 

_It was their room._

For the first time since they had fallen to the Underground, their first true outward display of emotion, or anything besides neutrality. They sunk to their knees, eyes wide open at the nearly identical room. 

...Nearly. 

They crawled to the toybox, and peered inside. Dusty toys. The human didn’t recognize any of them. The human shoved the box under the bed, not wanting to look at the unfamiliar toys. They stood up, and walked unsteadily towards another box, peering inside. Their eyes boggled. _Child’s shoes._ Their vision started getting blurry with tears. They couldn’t focus on that now. They reeled for a moment, falling backwards onto the carpet, roughly. 

After rubbing the tears out of their eyes, they walked towards the closet, throwing the doors open. 

Striped sweaters. 

_Their_ sweaters… 

None of _his_... 

They threw themself on the bed, tears welling up again, burying their face in the pillow for a few moments before starting to punch it repeatedly. They kicked their legs wildly. 

_There had been other children._

WHY. 

Had Toriel forgotten about them and him? Surely she hadn’t she wasn’t the type to do that, right? And he hadn’t been erased like that old man. 

There was no way. 

The human peeked over the edge of the bed. 

His plushies. His favorite one wasn’t there, sadly. Nevertheless, the human grabbed one, hugging it tightly. 

...Was it that it didn’t smell like him anymore, or that they had forgotten what he had smelled like? 

They drifted off to sleep like that. Hugging his plushy. 

_..._

_……_

_………_

_Who is Chara?_

_Why do you keep calling me that name?_

_Who are you?_

_I can’t find the way out. I thought I had found it, but it’s not there…_

_Where am I?_

_Someone please help me…_

The human woke up to find that they had been sleeping rather restlessly. Their arms were still locked tightly around the plushie, but most of the blankets were partly wrapped around their legs and partly cascading off the ball in a fabric waterfall. One pillow had fallen off the bed, while the human had curled up almost completely on the other. 

The human slowly uncurled, and sat up, casting their gaze across the room. There was a plate sitting in the middle of the floor. On the plate was a pie. It had once been piping hot, but had long since cooled over the night. 

The human slid off the bed and landed on the floor, stepping towards the pie and crouching down near it. 

They were not hungry. 

They went back to the closet, avoiding looking at the green and yellow striped sweaters. There, at the bottom of the closet, was a small bag. 

The human picked up the bag, walked back to the pie, and placed the pie slice in the bag. 

The human marched directly out of the room, right up to Toriel. Toriel was sitting in an armchair by a blazing fire, donning reading glasses and reading a large book. She looked up as the human approached. 

“Up already, I see?” she asked the human, giving them a warm smile. “Um. I want you to know how glad I am to have someone here.” 

The human did not respond, their neutral mask absolutely perfect. 

Toriel continued, lost in her fantasy. “There are so many old books I want to share, I want to show you my favorite bug-hunting spot.” Her eyes lit up, she turned her attention back to the human completely. The fire popped and crackled merrily, seeming to brighten to match her mood. “I’ve also prepared a curriculum for your education! This may come as a surprise to you, but I have always wanted to be a teacher! Actually, perhaps that isn’t very surprising?” She paused. “... _Still._ I am glad to have you living here.” 

Toriel smiled fondly at the human for a few moments. The human stared pointedly back. 

“Oh, did you need something? What is it?” she asked the human. 

The human asked how to leave the Ruins. 

There was an awkward pause. The fire died down. 

Toriel finally broke the silence, giving the human a strained smile that tried to be reassuring. “Wh-what? This… this _is_ your home now.” 

The human stared blankly. 

Toriel glanced about the room for a suitable distraction, before her eyes settled on the book she was reading. The strained smile returned to her face. “Um. Would you like to hear about the book I am reading? It is called ‘72 Uses for Snails’! How about it?” 

The human stared blankly, and then repeated their question. 

Toriel looked flustered. “Ummm…” Her cheeks colored, and she shoved the book in front of her snout to hide that. “How about an ex-exciting snail fact? Did you know, ah, that snails… Snails sometimes flip their digestive systems as they mature? Interesting!” As she spoke the snail fact, she seemed to calm down slightly, easy the book back into her lap and smiling earnestly at the human. 

As though by conveying all the emotions clashing within her through her facial muscles, she would be able to convince this human child to stay here, no matter their emotions or reasons for wishing to leave. 

The fire churned nervously. 

It failed. 

The human stared blankly, and then repeated their question. 

Toriel’s face fell. 

The fire went out. 

“...I have to do something. Stay here.” 

Toriel got up and ran so fast that she accidentally dropped the book on the floor. 

The human followed her, down the stairs to the basement. 

The basement was familiar to the human. At first it was just familiar in the way the Ruins had been, but then the human detected in the familiarity a stomach-wrenching sense of guilt and regret. 

Guilt and regret that did not belong to them. 

The human walked forwards, and stopped when they were several feet behind Toriel’s back. 

Toriel’s hands were clenched into fists, and trembling. 

“You wish to know how to return ‘home’, do you not? Ahead of us lies the end of the Ruins. A one-way exit to the rest of the Underground. I am going to destroy it. No one will ever be able to leave again. Now be a good child and go upstairs.” 

Her words were authoritative, an ultimatum. 

But her shaking voice betrayed her emotions. 

She walked down the corridor as quickly as she could. 

The human followed at their own pace, stopping again several feet away from her back. 

Her arms and shoulders were slack now, her fingers loosely curled into fists. 

“Every human that falls down here meets the same fate. I have seen it again and again. They come. They leave. They die. You naive little child…” 

Her voice now was a unique voice. It was low, a monotone. The voice of someone who had seen history repeat so many times that she was very nearly resigned to it, very nearly ready to give up. And yet there was still so much fight in her. Sparks of a fading fire that simply refused to fade and cool. 

“If you leave the Ruins… They… **Asgore**... will kill you.” 

That single name. So drenched in so many powerful negative emotions. Hatred. Anger. Fear. Sorrow. Loathing. 

That single name. 

_So. Damn. Familiar._

And confusing emotions, not the human’s, that came rolling in with the familiarity. 

Fear, first. 

Then determination. 

And finally understanding, and pity. 

“I am only protecting you, you understand? ...go to your room.” 

Her voice very nearly broke. 

She walked down the corridor as quickly as she could. 

The human followed at their own pace, stopping again several feet away from her back. 

Toriel had corrected her posture. Ramrod straight spine. Her joints were locked. Head held high. Eyes staring straight ahead. If it weren’t for her words, it would be impossible to tell if she realized the human was there or not. 

“Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning.” 

Her voice was like steel. Cold and unyielding. 

She walked down the corridor as quickly as she could. 

The human followed at their own pace, stopping again several feet away from her back. 

She was relaxed, ready for something. Her fingers flexed, and limbs stretched. 

“You want to leave so badly? Hmph. You are just like the others. There is only one solution to this. Prove yourself… Prove to me you are strong enough to survive!” 

Toriel had buried any sign of her emotion under an imposing vocal mask of steel and ice. 

The human was unfazed.


	6. Genocide 1.2

**Triad  
Arc 1: Ruins  
Part 2**

_Genocide_

_Seeing such a cute, tidy house in the Ruins gives you determination._

The human followed Toriel into the small, purple cottage. They entered, to find her already waiting for them. 

They took a few moments to look around the house, and felt significantly happier and safer than they had been in the Ruins. It was colorful, bright, and warm. There was a delightful smell in the air. The human allowed their mind to wander. 

They could imagine living here. 

“Do you smell that?” Toriel asked them, smiling broadly. “Surprise! It is a butterscotch-cinnamon pie! I thought we might celebrate your arrival. I want you to have a nice time living here.” Toriel’s smile shifted to something slightly more teasing. “So I will hold off on snail pie for tonight.” Her expression brightened again. “Here, I have another surprise for you!” 

Toriel headed down a hallway to the right, her soft paws padding first on hardwood floor, and then on soft carpeting. The human raced after her. Toriel stopped in front of a door and spun around, a huge smile on her face. The human skidded to a stop, nearly crashing into her. “This is it!” she exclaimed. She excitedly took the human’s hand, and led them right to the door. “A room of your own! I hope you like it!” Toriel affectionately rubbed the human’s head. 

The human leaned in to it, and beamed up at her. 

 

Toriel suddenly stopped, beginning to glance about, deely sniffing the air. “Is something burning…?” She glanced down at the human. “Um, make yourself at home!” The goat monster quickly dashed away. 

The human opened the door, stepped inside, and promptly stopped in their tracks. They could not keep the smile off their face as they looked around. 

_It was their room._

 

The human dashed about the room, excitedly exploring every nook and cranny of it. There were clothes in the closet(not their taste in colors, but they looked comfy), toys in a box(dusty and some broken, but there looked like there were really cool ones in there too!), a drawing of a flower(did Toriel do that? Toriel had said she liked flowers, right?), a box of kid’s shoes(Okay then?), and _plushies!_

The human grabbed one of the plushies. It was so soft and huggable, they really couldn’t help themself, and crashed face-first onto the bed. 

They drifted off to sleep like that. Hugging their plushy. 

They were probably the happiest they’d been since they’d fallen into the Underground. 

_Flowey won’t let you escape._

_“Howdy, human! You look like you need some LOVE! Want some FRIENDLINESS PELLETS?”_

_“HERE WE GO!”_

_..._

_**Why should I present you with even the illusion of control?**_

The human gasped as they woke up, drawing their limbs in towards their body. 

They had been sleeping relatively peacefully, for most of the night. Their blankets were barely disturbed. Their arms still locked around the plushy. 

The human sat up in their bed, casting their gaze across the room. There was a plate sitting in the middle of the floor. On the plate was a pie. It had once been piping hot, but had long since cooled over the night. 

The human slid off the bed and landed on the floor, stepping towards the pie and crouching down near it. 

They were very hungry. 

Not even bothering with utensils, the human simply at the desert with their fingers, licking the pie’s residue off their fingers. 

It must’ve been the best food they’d eaten in _weeks!_ It was absolutely _delicious._ The human ended up licking the plate clean, and rubbing the remains of the pie off from the area surrounding their mouth and sucking it off their hands. 

The human stayed in the Ruins. They were happy there. Although Flowey did haunt their nightmares, and they were tentative to leave the house in the Ruins in case he appeared out there, as well. They were convinced that so long as they stayed in Toriel’s house, with the kindly monster, they would be safe. 

Until a terrible idea began prickling at the back of their mind. 

They sifted through all the things they had seen before when first exploring the room. 

They had not once seen Toriel pick up a crayon or attempt to draw. 

It was true that the clothing and toys could have once belonged to Toriel. But she was far too careful and caring to break her toys, even by accident. And she only ever seemed to wear royal shades of purple, not green and yellow. 

And the box of shoes. 

The human had not once seen Toriel wear shoes. 

There was an explanation for this. That other children had fallen into the Underground and stayed with Toriel. 

So where were they? And why weren’t there teen-sized shoes? 

Well. The human came to two conclusions. Either the humans had found a way out of the Underground, or… 

Upon reaching the second conclusion, they felt a lot less safe in the house. 

After all, Toriel had to have scared off Flowey _somehow,_ right? He had almost killed them with his ‘friendliness’ pellets. He even had that inescapable ring. And he could move the pellets really fast. Toriel must be able to use some _really_ strong attacks to be able to scare off Flowey, right? 

Toriel had been nice to the human, that was true. But, well… The human really hadn’t known Toriel for very long at all. And they didn’t know that much about Toriel or her past at all. 

They were still reluctant to leave, and go back into the Ruins, though. Flowey was definitely eager to kill the human, while Toriel didn’t seem aggressive. So far. 

Though… There was one other option. 

If the other human children hadn’t _died,_ then they must have gone _outside the Ruins._

The human was determined to chase after them having figured that out. 

It took a little while to work up their courage, but they eventually approached Toriel. She was sitting in an armchair by a blazing fire, donning reading glasses and reading a large book. She looked up as the human approached. 

“Oh, did you need something? What is it?” Toriel asked the human, smiling fondly. 

Staring at their feet, the human quickly asked how they could leave the Ruins. 

There was an awkward pause. The fire died down. 

Toriel finally broke the silence, giving the human a strained smile that tried to be reassuring. “Wh-what? This… this _is_ your home now.” 

The human fidgeted as they repeated their question. They couldn’t look Toriel in the eye. 

Toriel glanced about the room for a suitable distraction, before her eyes settled on the book she was reading. The strained smile returned to her face. “Um. Would you like to hear about the book I am reading? It is called ‘72 Uses for Snails’! How about it?” 

The human repeated their question again, more insistently, a look of desperation filling their face. 

Toriel looked flustered. “Ummm…” Her cheeks colored, and she shoved the book in front of her snout to hide that. “How about an ex-exciting snail fact? Did you know, ah, that snails… Snails sometimes flip their digestive systems as they mature? Interesting!” As she spoke the snail fact, she seemed to calm down slightly, easy the book back into her lap and smiling earnestly at the human. 

As though by conveying all the emotions clashing within her through her facial muscles, she would be able to convince this human child to stay here, no matter their emotions or reasons for wishing to leave. 

The fire churned nervously. 

The human had squeezed their eyes tight, clutching their hands over their stomach. Their nervousness was starting to get the better of them. They repeated their question, over and over, not even seeing or hearing Toriel. 

Toriel’s face fell. 

The fire went out. 

“...I have to do something. Stay here.” 

Toriel got up and ran so fast that she accidentally dropped the book on the floor. 

The human followed forlornly after, calling out Toriel’s name. They wandered down the stairs to the basement, and the moment they saw Toriel again they ran towards her. 

Their emotions were confused now. They _wanted_ to trust Toriel. Maybe they had made the decision to be afraid of her too early. After all, they didn’t know the full story. 

But if that was true, what happened to the other kids? There were a lot of shoes in that box. Surely _one_ of them might’ve stayed behind? 

Toriel’s hands were clenched into fists, and trembling. 

When the human saw that, they stopped. 

“You wish to know how to return ‘home’, do you not? Ahead of us lies the end of the Ruins. A one-way exit to the rest of the Underground. I am going to destroy it. No one will ever be able to leave again. Now be a good child and go upstairs.” 

Her words were authoritative, an ultimatum. 

But her shaking voice betrayed her emotions. 

The human could sense regret, and anger. 

Anger at who? Regret why? 

She walked down the corridor as quickly as she could. 

The human ran after her. They wanted to know why she had to destroy the exit to the Ruins. And they _didn’t WANT_ to be trapped in the Ruins with Flowey.

The moment they saw Toriel again, they ran up to her and grabbed the back of her dress. 

Her arms and shoulders were slack now, her fingers loosely curled into fists. 

“Every human that falls down here meets the same fate. I have seen it again and again. They come. They leave. They die. You naive little child…” 

Her voice now was a unique voice. It was low, a monotone. The voice of someone who had seen history repeat so many times that she was very nearly resigned to it, very nearly ready to give up. And yet there was still so much fight in her. Sparks of a fading fire that simply refused to fade and cool. 

“If you leave the Ruins… They… **Asgore**... will kill you.” 

That single name. So drenched in so many powerful negative emotions. Hatred. Anger. Fear. Sorrow. Loathing. 

That single name. 

The human could sense other emotions. Less dark, more light. 

Regret. Wistfulness. Desperation. 

“I am only protecting you, you understand? ...go to your room.” 

Her voice very nearly broke. 

When Toriel tried walking down the corridor, the human clung tight, walking directly behind her. 

An idea began to form in their mind. 

“Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning.” 

Her voice was like steel. Cold and unyielding. 

The human could hear the cracks in the steel. 

The human stopped as Toriel rushed away. They curled up into a ball on the floor, clutching their stick tightly. 

They didn’t know what to do. 

They were so confused. 

They did the first thing that came to mind, and followed slowly after Toriel. 

When they saw her she was relaxed, ready for something. Her fingers flexed, and limbs stretched. 

“You want to leave so badly? Hmph. You are just like the others. There is only one solution to this. Prove yourself… Prove to me you are strong enough to survive!” 

Toriel had buried any sign of her emotion under an imposing vocal mask of steel and ice. 

The human felt a curious mixture of determination and pure, utter fear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have two things to say.   
> Writing happy Genocide Runner was my absolute favorite part of this fic so far.   
> Writing Genocide Runner piecing things together and reaching a horrifying conclusion was my least favorite.   
> That is why the Genocide Timeline part of this fic is my favorite to write.


	7. Inner 1.3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what   
> I finished this chapter, and have two more after it. It's Undertale's anniversary. I'm really impatient.   
> Have three more chapters. :P

**Triad  
Arc 1: Ruins  
Part 3**

_Inner_

Everything flashed. The surrounding area faded into void. The color drained from Asriel and T̺͖̼̥͓̱ͣ̈͋͋ō̩̠̦̼̼̘̍͠r̛̰͕͙͓̜̻̜ͥͭ͌i̢̱̹̠ͩ͌͛͐ͣ͊ͨ̇e̥̤͖̫ͤ͗́͜ͅl̙͎̟̤͊͑̒̂ͣ̾́̕͢. The human felt a strange, unnatural tugging from deep in their chest as a small red heart appeared in front of them, the only spot of visible color. The heart was colored bright red. 

T̺͖̼̥͓̱ͣ̈͋͋ō̩̠̦̼̼̘̍͠r̛̰͕͙͓̜̻̜ͥͭ͌i̢̱̹̠ͩ͌͛͐ͣ͊ͨ̇e̥̤͖̫ͤ͗́͜ͅl̙͎̟̤͊͑̒̂ͣ̾́̕͢ blocks the way!

The human turned to look at Asriel’s face. It was a sea of confusion and desperation. He obviously had no idea what was going on. 

“Mom, what happened!?” Asriel asked, his voice shaking. “W-why’re you starting a FIGHT? ...Mom?” 

She barely seemed to notice her son and the human with him. 

_Ţ̛̛h̵̡i̶҉s̷̕ ̨́i҉̕s͏͜ ̀f͠ór̕ ͜͝yo͡͠u̵ŕ̨ ̧͞o̷̢w̡̧̕n͜͏҉ ̷ģ̕̕oo͏͝d҉̛.͏̷̡ ._

Her voice was hollow, flat. The human did not need to see her face to tell how depressed she was. 

Their Soul gave a curious pang of empathy, and was filled with Determination. 

Asriel, meanwhile, burst into tears. 

She swept her hand in a broad arc, fireballs trailing from it and flowing freely. 

An idea associated with unpleasant emotions surfaced in the human’s mind. Asriel didn’t look like he was going to dodge the fireballs. He seemed to be in shock, crying. They didn’t like this idea, but it was probably the only way to keep Asriel from getting hurt… 

They liked Asriel. He had been nice to them and helped them. 

And for some reason the thought of someone getting hurt when they could’ve _stopped_ it made them want to just break down. 

Their stick began to glow a faint red. 

They ran towards Asriel, their bright red Soul and glowing red stick trailing light behind them. Then, they began swinging their stick at the incoming fireballs, somehow deflecting them. 

The fireballs bounced back towards Toriel, who managed to block them with more fireballs. 

The human turned to Asriel, hugging him as tightly as possible to try and make him stop crying. They quietly asked him to help them win this. Peacefully. 

Something about hurting her made the human feel incredibly guilty. 

Asriel was silent for a few moments, then nodded. The human pulled away, and tried giving Asriel an encouraging smile. 

Asriel stepped forwards, thinking. “...Mom, I don’t want to fight you,” he told her. 

T̝̼̙̣̯ͫô̇ͫͧ҉͈͈͓r̻̪͒i͎̗̩̯ͫe͓͖̥̞͊̇ͧ͊̇ͦl̛̘̻̙ paused, staring at her son. The blocky static seemed to fade slightly. 

_N͏̸́ǫ̕ ͠͏o͜n͟ȩ ̧͢w̨͏͏i͢l̢͢l̕͡ ͟e͠v̶͘e̢̛r̷͞ l̴̴e̴̛a҉̧v̡͝͝e̸̴ ̸̡à̸g͟͡á̶͠i̵͢ń.̵̧ ͟_

And the human was swinging their stick like a sword, deflecting the fireballs with it. This time they were clumsy, and a fireball hit them in the chest. 

They fell to the ground. The pain felt familiar. 

“ _Chara!_ ” Asriel was immediately hovering over the human. The human gave Asriel a thumbs up, and Asriel sighed in relief. 

Asriel turned his attention to his mother again. He ran over to her, hugging her tightly. 

He had started crying again. 

The human saw her freeze up. 

_..̀._

The human saw her prepare another fire attack. 

The ran straight towards her, colliding with her, as her large paw smacked into their forehead. They fell backwards. She immediately stopped. 

There was a tense pause. Asriel looked back down at the human with intense concern. 

The human thought for a moment, and stood up. On a whim, they told T̘̗͎̂ͬ͞ơ̛͈̰͚̬̹͔̞̿̈́ͦ̏̐̑͠r̔͗̓͒́̍̄̊҉͏̣̦͙͈͝i̫̳̤̱ͯ͢ͅe̮͈͚̮͓̟ͬ̿̋̚l̡̫̝ͪͤ͂͂̒͛͝ͅ that they had to go if they’re going to free everyone. They were not sure where that idea had come from, but they were fairly certain it would work. 

T̷̢h҉ȩ͢͞ m̵em̧͜o͢҉̛r̶͜ies came flooding back! 

 

The blocky static faded entirely. They could see Toriel’s bright red eyes, unobscured. 

_Your fate is up to you now!_

“ _Mom!_ ” Asriel started hugging Toriel tightly again. He was still crying. “Wh-what was that?” 

 

“Asriel, my child.” Toriel bent low, hugging Asriel back. “Shh… It’s okay now. I’m here.” 

They stayed like that for a little while, before pulling apart. Toriel turned her attention to the human. “Oh, Chara! You’re hurt. I’m sorry for not doing this earlier.” 

She stepped towards the human, and green fire began to emanate from her paws. The human caught it in their hands, and sighed as a wave of warmth passed over them. The strange phantom pain that the fireball had left vanished entirely. 

The human smiled at both Toriel and Asriel. 

Asriel seemed happy. 

He shifted slightly on his paws. 

“...Uh, Mom?” Asriel asked. “Do you think… Do you think Chara and I can go check on Dad? And my friends? I mean… I _feel_ like it’s been a while since I really saw any of them…” 

Toriel looked slightly conflicted, but then nodded. “Of course, Asriel. Just… stay together, my children.” 

Asriel nodded. “Okay, Mom!” The world faded back in around them. 

The two children walked through the door out of the Ruins, and headed down a long corridor. 

They exited through a door, only to step into a sea of dark. They approached a pool of light, to see… Nothing at all. 

Both of them got a sudden chill up their spine. The human stepped closer to Asriel. 

And they continued walking. 

The tension and irrational fear was so palpable in this room that it could be cut with a knife. 

And, together, they exited the Ruins to enter…


	8. Pacifist 1.3

**Triad  
Arc 1: Ruins   
Part 3**

_Pacifist_

Everything flashed. The surrounding area faded into void. The color drained from Toriel. The human felt a strange, unnatural tugging from deep in their chest as a small red heart appeared in front of them, the only spot of visible color. The heart was colored dull red. 

Toriel blocks the way!

Her face was a perfect mask, void of emotion. 

The human wondered how to get through this fight, _without_ killing her. They knew she was strong, but they also knew monsters were, overall, a very fragile race. 

What had her advice been? Strike up a ‘friendly conversation’? 

For some reason the only topic that came to mind was telling Toriel that the human had seen her die. 

They didn’t remember it at all, but suddenly they could picture it quite clearly. A crimson slash across her chest, a cut on her cheek, and suddenly all that remains is white dust like snow, ingrained so deeply in her purple robes that they’ll never be truly clean again.

That didn’t strike the human as a particularly good topic for ‘friendly conversation’. 

Toriel frowned. “...Wait. ...Why are you looking at me like that? Like you have seen a ghost. Do you know something that I do not? No… That is impossible.” 

Toriel swept her hand in a broad arc, fireballs trailing from it and flowing freely. The human seemed to dance as they dodged the fireballs, their dull red Soul chasing them. 

The human thought for a moment. 

Toriel prepares a magical attack. 

The human was not quite sure what to do, other than simply dodge Toriel’s attacks and wait. So that is exactly what they did. 

They could not go backwards. They could not talk her out of it. They needed to move forwards. Without killing her. Somehow. 

Their best option was to wait, until her nerve gave out. 

She was remaining silent, and her expression was unchanged. 

The human began to doubt. What if they were wrong? How long would this battle take? How much patience did Toriel have? 

When suddenly, Toriel spoke. “What are you doing?” she asked. Still emotionless, so far as the human could detect. 

“Attack or run away!” she commanded. 

The human did neither. 

They still couldn’t tell what her emotion was… Anger maybe? Frustration? 

“What are you proving this way?” 

...Confusion? 

“Fight me or leave!” 

Frustration, right? 

“ _Stop it!_ ” 

Definitely frustration. 

“Stop looking at me that way…” 

...Not frustration…? 

“Go away!” 

The human was very confused, but continued to just dodge and not fight. 

For a little while, Toriel was silent, and continued attacking. The human was bewildered. Had Toriel regained control of her emotions? Was this going to take even longer now? 

The human was not sure how much longer they could keep this up. They weren’t tiring, per se. However fireballs had grazed their legs and arms. They hadn’t left true burns, more the aching ghosts of pain. It was _strange_ , and distracting. 

It felt familiar, in multiple ways. 

It was then, while they were trying to catch their breath, that they noticed something. 

Toriel’s fireballs were purposefully avoiding the human. 

There was a guilty and depressed look on Toriel’s face. Even they could see that. 

She stopped firing attacks, for a moment. 

When she spoke, her voice was low, and it took effort for the human to make out her words. 

“I know you want to go home, but…” Toriel hesitated, then pressed on. “But please… go upstairs, _now._ ” She was pleading. 

The human stared at Toriel with a blank expression. They did not move. 

“I promise I will take good care of you here,” Toriel told the human. She was smiling, sadly. Like she already knew how the human would react. 

Like she had repeated this same scene far too many times. 

She continued to implore the human. “I know we do not have much, but… We can have a good life here!” 

The human stared at Toriel with a blank expression. They did not move. 

The smile vanished from Toriel’s face. “Why are you making this so difficult?” She seemed like she wanted to cry. Or punch a wall. Or just give up. 

“Please, go upstairs…” 

Her voice broke. 

Her gaze dropped to the brick floor. She let out a hollow laugh. “Pathetic, is it not? I cannot even save a single child…” 

She couldn’t look at the human. 

She seemed to shrink, almost. Then she looked up again, her gaze fixing on a point somewhere above the child’s head as she tried to put on a brave face. Her voice had flattened into a monotone. “No, I understand… You would just be unhappy, trapped down here. The Ruins are very small once you get used to them. It would not be right for you to grow up in a place like this. My expectations… My loneliness… My fear…” Toriel shuddered slightly, then forced herself to look the human in the eye and smile. “For you, my child, I will put them aside.” Her voice was trying to sound light and happy, but ended up falling flat. 

Color and dimension returned to the world, violet surrounding them. 

Toriel faced the door, her back to the human. 

“If you truly wish to leave the Ruins… I will not stop you.” Her voice was resigned. She had accepted that the human was going to leave. One way or another. 

“However, when you leave… _Please do not come back._ I hope you understand... “ 

Toriel turned around, and before the human could react, hugged them. 

The human stared at Toriel with a blank expression. They did not move. 

Toriel slowly stood up, rubbing her face with her sleeve. She smiled wistfully. “Goodbye, my child.” 

She slowly padded away, her footsteps receding and echoing off the brick walls. 

“...Goodbye, Mom.” 

The footsteps stopped. The voice had been low. The emotion behind it, unreadable. 

Toriel began walking back towards where the human had been. A flutter of hope stirred in her chest. 

There was something so… familiar about this child. She had felt it when they had met. She knew them, somehow. 

But the human had already gone beyond the great purple door. 

Toriel paused for a moment, let out a breath she had not realized she had allowed to pent up, and headed down the corridor again. 

After passing through the door, the human walked down a long hallway at a leisurely pace. 

They exited through a door, only to step into a sea of dark. They approached a pool of light, to see a familiar face. 

“Clever. _Veeeeeeery clever._ You think you’re really smart, _don’t_ you?” The voice was lighthearted and teasing. The face smirking. His stem straightened up, his face a picture of perfect childlike joy. “In this world, it’s kill or be killed!” He said it similarly to how a small child would proudly tell their parents that they had just learned what one plus one equals. He tilted his head, the smirk returning slightly. “So you were able to play by your _own_ rules.” 

Flowey’s face shifted. 

Is that a smile? 

“You spared the life of a single person!” He giggled, softly. Like he had just noticed a funny in-joke only he would get. Flowey bounced up and down on his stem. “I bet you feel really great. You didn’t kill anyone this time. But what will you do if you meet a relentless killer? You’ll die and you’ll die and you’ll die!” Flowey’s voice’s pitch soared higher and higher, as he raised his stem upwards so her could be on eye level with the human. 

“Until you tire of it.” 

Flowey pressed their forehead against the human’s, their eyes and smile spreading unnaturally wide. “What will you do then? _Will you kill out of frustration?_ ” 

 

Flowey ‘s smile had far too many teeth. 

“Or will you give up entirely on this world…” 

Flowey leaned back on his stem, away from the human, whispering almost lovingly to the human now. 

“...and let _me_ inherit the power to control it?” He smiled sickeningly. “ _I am the prince of this world’s future._ Don’t worry, my little monarch, my plan isn’t regicide.” 

Flowey shrunk, his expression shifting. 

Just an innocent, sickeningly sweet, smiley face flower. 

Like a child’s drawing. 

“This is SO much more interesting!” 

Then his face expanded, swelling and twisting and contorting in unnatural ways-- 

The human, who had maintained a blank expression throughout Flowey’s entire monologue, kicked Flowey in the face, before walking nonchalantly around him. 

“...Hey! _Hey!_ ” 

The human walked forwards ignoring Flowey completely. 

Flowey growled in utter frustration, before ducking underground. 

And they exited the Ruins, to enter…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Pacifist Runner sucks at reading facial expressions and emotions, while the Genocide Runner excels at it.   
> Also, has anyone else wanted to kick Flowey in the face when he does his face-expandy-tooth-grin thing?


	9. Genocide 1.3

**Triad  
** Arc 1: Ruins  
Part 3 

_Genocide_

Everything flashed. The surrounding area faded into void. The color drained from Toriel. The human felt a strange, unnatural tugging from deep in their chest as a small red heart appeared in front of them, the only spot of visible color. The heart was colored bright red. 

Toriel blocks the way!

The human could tell she wanted her face to be a perfect mask, void of emotions. But the heaviness of her eyebrows, the way her eyes were unfocused, her fingers twitched… 

As the colors faded to pure darkness, the human’s breathing accelerated. They curled their nails into their palms, trying to force themselves to focus using pain. 

They tried to focus. They tried to ask Toriel to come with them, if she was so concerned for their safety. 

Their voice seized up, and they just couldn’t put one word in front of the other. The sentence came out as a high pitched trembling whimper. 

Toriel swept her hand in a broad arc, fireballs trailing from it and flowing freely. 

The human let out another distressed cry, holding up their stick. 

_**I don’t want to die!** _

_You are filled with **determination.**_

Their soul shone. A faint red glow surrounded the stick… And miraculously it deflected one of the fireballs, sending it bouncing back at Toriel. The human gasped in shock, and though Toriel as well was surprised by this, she managed to send another fireball to block the one coming at her. 

“My child… what was…?” Her eyes were large and round. 

The human stood, frozen with indecision. Their thoughts were an unmanageable jumble. 

_I don’t want to die! Fight or flight, fight or flight…_

_I don’t want to hurt Toriel._

_But I need to get away from Flowey._

_If he’s in the Ruins… He might…_

_**No!**_

Fireballs were flowing towards the human again. They wildly flailed their stick, managing to deflect multiple fireballs. But one still hit them in in the leg. 

The human crumpled to the ground. It didn’t exactly _hurt._ But their pain sensing nerves tingled, dancing with pins and needles. They couldn’t move their leg without a tingling spark flitting through it. 

_She HURT me._

_WHY_

_Can’t run..._

_...fight. Fight. FIGHT._

Before they knew what they were doing they ran at Toriel, hitting her as hard at the could with their stick. 

**19073**

A slash across Toriel’s chest, traveling from her left side through to her stomach. A cut under her left eye. 

The human fell backwards, tears appearing in their eyes. 

Toriel stared at the human in absolute shock, and the human stared back with a similar expression. 

Her eyes were huge and her mouth gaping. 

The light of the stick went out. The human’s Soul flashed erratically, expressing their surprise and panic. 

Toriel’s voice had cracked, tremulous. “Y-y… you… Really hate me that much?” 

The human’s breathing sped up. They shook their head quickly. 

“Now I see who I was protecting by keeping you here…” 

The human sank to their knees, hugging their stomach and dropping their stick. Their stomach really hurt. Their ears were ringing. Their vision started tunneling. They felt dizzy. 

“Not you…” 

Their vision cleared just long enough to see Toriel’s delirious grin. “But them!” 

_nononononononoNONONO_

Toriel fell to her knees. She stared at the floor. She let out a hollow laugh. 

And then she was dust. 

The human’s expression was horrified. 

A pale, trembling, white upside-down heart appeared from within the shower of her dust… 

The human crawled towards it, reaching with trembling figures. It broke into shards and faded before they could graze it. 

The human stared at the fixed point where the Soul had been as the world faded back into existence around them again. 

Fat tears began to roll down the human’s face. 

They vaguely remembered screaming. And punching the brick ground until their knuckles bled. And grabbing at the dust that used to be imbued with the life that was Toriel, confused at how it had fallen apart so quickly, so easily. 

And the memories faded into sleep that they did not remember entering. 

When they woke up, they were too dazed to get to dust off their sweater and hand and out of their hair. They picked up their stick, walking slowly down the long hallway, trailing the stick’s tip on the floor and staring vacantly into space. 

The bricks were purple. 

Purple, like her robes. 

It was all empty now. All of it. 

Just a dusted shell. 

They exited through a door, only to step into a sea of dark. They approached a pool of light, to see a familiar face. 

That broke them out of their dazed state. They screamed as loudly as they possibly could, stepping backwards and holding up their stick in defense. 

_Flowey…!!_

Flowey grinned innocently at them. “Hahahaha~” Flowey’s stem extended as he leaned in closer to the human. The human stepped backwards more, putting their stick between the two. 

“You’re not really human, are you?” Flowey asked, a smirk visible in his face. “No. You’re empty inside.” 

“ _Just like me._ ” 

That was no smile. 

“In fact…” 

Flowey’s stem wrapped around the stick, yanking it out of the human’s grasp and tossing it aside. The human looked on in horror, putting up their hands in defense. Flowey wrapped his stem around the human’s hands in response, locking them in place. 

The human was crying. 

Flowey wasn’t smiling. He looked… truly happy in a way. For the first time in a long time. 

The human was too terrified to properly register this. 

“You’re… Chara, right?” Hope glimmered in Flowey’s eyes. A true smile lit up his face. “We’re still inseperable after all these years…” 

Flowey tried headbutting the human in almost a playful manner. The human tried jerking away, failing as their wrists were still caught in Flowey’s stem. 

“Listen. I have a plan to become all powerful. Even more power than you and your stolen Soul. ” 

_S-stolen?_ The human stared at Flowey with wide, uncomprehending eyes, tears streaming freely down their face. 

“ _Let’s destroy everything in this _wretched world._ ” _

The human screamed, curling into a ball on the floor, closing their eyes tightly in hope that it was just a bad dream. 

Just a nightmare. 

They felt a gentle nudging, and looked up only to see Flowey wearing what looked like _Toriel’s face._

They tried to scream but it only came out as pathetic and incomprehensible whimpering. 

“Everyone, everything in these worthless memories…” His face shifted, sprouting an impossible amount of sharp, sharp teeth. “ _Let’s turn ‘em all to **dust!**_ ” 

The human _snapped._

They screamed. They cried. They flailed their limbs. They kicked and punched. 

They cried out for help. 

The next thing they knew, they were lying on their back and Flowey was gone. 

They were still covered in Toriel’s dust. 

They scrambled over to their stick, leaning on it heavily as they got up. 

They looked awful. 

They leaned on their stick, as they exited the Ruins to enter… 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate title: In which Genocide Runner really needs a freaking hug.  
> The stick thing is a little headcanon of mine. In the Undyne fight you deflect some of Undyne's spears with a shield. It's my headcanon that the shield is whatever weapon item you have equiped at the time charged with Determination, since I think it's possible that Determination could possibly repel magic somehow? After all, the more determined you are to harm a monster, the more damage you do to it...


	10. 2.1 Inner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ţ̶̀h͟ì̵͜s̛ ̡w̷̨a̵s̀͏ ̕ńǫ͘͠t͜ s̸̶u̴̸p̧̕po͢sę͝d͡ ̶̡҉t̶o͏ ͝h̷̷̀a̵p̶̛̕p̴ę̸͞n҉̡.͠ ҉̡

**Triad  
** Arc 2: Snowdin  
Part 1 

_Inner_

__A lot of things in the Underground simply ref--_ _

__…_ _

___...This train of thought seems depressingly familiar._ _ _

__The human, and Asriel Dreemurr, strode out from within the Ruins. Asriel carefully pushed the door shut, before walking swiftly ahead as his furry paws kicked up clouds of powdery snow. The human winced slightly as it dusted their sweater and legs, but did not protest._ _

__They walked forwards, leaning on a stick as they stepped forwards. They had an odd way of walking. All up on their tip-toes, and shuffling forwards, not raising their feet off the ground very much._ _

__Asriel walked ahead of them, and at a fast pace, but never too far ahead. All the while, he spoke, covering the deathly silence with a comforting background of noise._ _

__“So, this is Snowdin! Well, not here. This is the woods outside of Snowdin, there’s usually just the sentries around here. And a couple other monsters,” Asriel explained._ _

__The human was happy that Asriel was around. They couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched… By something they knew. And that they knew they should probably be afraid of. They hadn;t known Asriel very long, but he was very nice and had helped them, so they trusted him. And besides, his talking was distracting from that feeling that there was something following them._ _

__A loud crack rent the air._ _

__The human and Asriel realized that they had both been expecting it._ _

__Steam billowed from Asriel’s mouth as he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding in. He turned back to look at the human, and noticed their grip had tightened around their stick._ _

__Asriel looked past the human, and saw a heavy, tough looking stick had been snapped in half, jagged splinters littering the snow around it. The human noticed this, too._ _

__Asriel grinned, trying to be reassuring but looking uneasy. “Heheh… That’s probably just S̬̭̮͙̈́̎ͪ͗͞ă̵̺͚͎ͫ̾͐̂̈́̚n̽̓ͮs͆͆ͣͤ̓͘. He’s one of the sentries. He likes pranks and jokes… But none of them are really good…”_ _

__Asriel and the human continued walking through the heavily wooded area._ _

__It was harder to ignore the feeling of being watched._ _

__Until, almost on an unspoken signal, the human and monster both stopped in front of a wooden bridge. Both of them could feel an unnaturally cold breath on the backs of their necks._ _

__“H̨̻̗͎̄ͪ̍̇͛ ̶͖̰̠̖͎e̟̥̳̩̦̙̯ͬ̒̓͗̾̕ y ̸͙͎ ̧̱ ̸̹̦͕̟̍̒̐͌t̮̥̓́̃̈͐ ͚͚̰̬̗͖̎ͬ͌h̠̜̺͇͇̙̘̅͆́̆ ̦̦̳̖͖͑̌́̕e͈̗̳̫͙ͣ̓̋͠ ̠̣̣̟͕̩̎̌ͅr̴̦͚̳͍ͮ̽̍ͧ̚ͅ ̡̱̖̜̥̳͗̅e͓͌͂͡.̥̮̝͔̫͓ ͨ͏̳̬͍̝̩”_ _

__The voice sent a chill up their spines._ _

__“D̤̮̪͗̿̒ͅ ̥͆ͦͯ͌͡o̸͓͎̰̩͕͚ ͙̙͎̟̭ͮͨ̊n̥̘̜͌ ̦̮̠́̈́ͤͅ'͉̪̰̘̦͔͚ ͇ͥ̏ͫͣͪ̅ṱ̶̺̱̗̞̱͓ͩͬ͆ͭ̏ ̳̳̬̲ͮ̑̏̿ ̖̞̪̞͙͌͑ ̞̇y̺̟̪̞͚ ̷̲̤̤̥͂̇͌̆ͥȯ̯̌̑̅ͧͩ ́ͮ͗û̬͓̲͚ ͭ̇͒͂̃̽̋͘ ̫͍̹̳̣̓̒͌̏ͣ̃̕ ̛̗̼͙̏t̤͉̳̄ ̣̺̳̰̘̪ͮ̾̽̎ͥw͇̝͙̭̟̱̽ͤ̃́ͣ͢ͅ ̡̫̙̽̽̎ͤo̼̙̖̎̎̒̑͞ ̲̠̺̖̦̪̐ͯͥ̓ͪ ͎̟̬̹͓ͦ̌͢ ̵̮̱̩ͮ͋̓k͖̦̞̩͍̽̄ ̽ͣ͂̌ͥ̕n͇̝̝̗͚̋̓̔ͯͫ̋̃͡ ͈̯͇̼̔ͫ̒̚͝o̖̺͈͎̤͙ͮͫ͑ ͕̫̻̣̞̜ͫ̈w̓̎̎ ̟̬̠̖̞̼̅͘ ͔̳̜̫̻̹ͦ̓̈́ͅ ͓ͣ͒ͣ̅͐̒ͪh̤̪̺̜͈͔ͅ ̪̥͓͖̙͝o̾̿ͮ͂̃̇ ̗̣̭̪͕̫̿ͅẃ̧͓͚̥͕͍ ̥̘̘̟̩ͪͅ ͖̫͖̩̫̰ͤͭͬͫ̆ͬ ̶̱͚̣̤ͦͦ͆ ̬̫̯̞̑ͮ̒t̬̻̫͖͓͛̇ ̧̬̼̘͙̖̙ő̴̜̝̘ ͮ̎̊ͨ̎̑̚҉̭̩͉͈̱̬̦ ̷̮̦̫͚̞̊̇ͧ ̦͙̹̲g̵̩̺̽ ͈̦͖̱̗̐ͦ̾͌ͭ͘r̾͐̔̉҉̙̱͈̞̩ ̵̬̮̮̞͈ͩͦ͗ͭͭͅe̯̫͖̫̺͕ͨͯ́̾͑ͬ ̲̝̥̗͚ͪ̉͂̓̚e͖͗́͑̊ͩ̋́ ̗̩̹͇̄ͧͬ̽t̛͉ͭ͆̐ͭ̔ ̶̯̤͆̆ ͂̒ͪͭ͗̚҉̙͚̺͇̯ͅ ̢̯͖̹̎̑̎ͅͅa̓̑́̍̿̿ͤ ̝͇̺̭̣͕̺͐͛̆̈͜ ͖͚̿ͤ͗͑̍ ̻͓̗̝̒ǹ̮̪̫͈̜͎̥ ̤e̙̤͇̮͉̿͊̚ ̫͙̲̗̱́̊̓̉w̵̮̞͓͂̚ ̴̹͈̞͒̅͌ͥ ̝̜͋͐̑ͅ ̞̯̮͕͍͝f͙̠̜̦̘ ̨̱̠̜͗r̗͈̩̱̠̊͋ ͈̫̲͊ͥͭi̖ͬ͛́ ̘ͭ̐ͅeͩ̋ ̙̫̦͓͍̹͐ͬ̿̔̋ͥͮņ̲̜̹̠̭̹ ͍̠̖̳̥́ͪ̔̿ͥd̙͎͎̬̪̘ ́̓҉?́ ̪̫̣͉̘̈́ͭ̍̾͗̀”_ _

__The human squeezed their eyes shut. This sounded like Toriel’s voice, when she had been all… glitchy. There was an unpleasant buzzing in their ears._ _

__Asriel, on the other had frozen up completely._ _

__T̲̗ͯ̈́̊̈́ͤͨ ̜͌ͤͫͦ̌ͬ̕uͪ̍ ̛̥̋ȓ̙̲̙͐͊͂̔ ̯͙̑͗̾̏ͦn͙̼̮̂̂ͪ͛͊ ҉͍̟͔̬̦͔̺ ͭ͗͗̾͑ ̰̜̇̏ͧ̀̓̒a̹̞̘̰ͨͧ̋̊͋ ̣̥̼͔̘̼͈̊r͌́̿͏̻̪̱̮͈̝ ̺͍̯̰͚͋͟o̮̱͇̎̍̏͒̿ ͇̠̻̲͢u͕̖͎̭̗͋ͦ͂ ̐̏ͮͣn̨̈̐̑̐̇͑ ̧̘̥̹̳̭̣͕̆d̛̗̩̊ͯ ̨̫̤͍̼ͯ̈͒ͪ̿́ͅͅ ̏̇̓ͤ̏͗ͥ ̗̻͌ͩͧ͑͂͐͡a̲̰̼͔̦͠ ̶ͪͦ̿ͬn̓̇ͮͯ̋͐ ͖͉̹̪̌͒́̿ͫͬ͆d̯̭̼̮̝͇ͦ̀ͫ̅ͬ̔͟ ̦ ̢̜͕̮̙͂ͩ̐͑̆̉͐ ͔͇͇ͪ̈́͒ͣ̚s͕ͯ̊̈͂ͬ͆͠ ̸̲̮̤͚ͥ͂̄ͨh̺̘̪̫̹̩̺̐ͭ͋͗̏̕ ̆ͬ̔̂a̝̩̟͙̓ͤ͋͡ ̤̮̼̘̹̣̞k͇̫̓ͬ͑͆̎ ͇̩͖̱̀ͩ̾̅͛ë͍̺͖̫̗͌ͥͩ̚ͅ ̶̖̩̲͚͙̜̭͆̊͂ͫ͗̂ ͈̣͈ ͒͌m̍̋ͫ̋͊͏̠̦̗͕̞̦ ͕͍ͤy̟̥̳̼̜ͥ͒̓͂̀̈̿ͅ ̪̫͙̫͋̎ͨͥ̄͟ ͕̙͈̤̘̟̳ ̭͓̻̭͍̍̽̒̉h̸̘͕̖̟͇̖̱ ̝͈̐̉̈́͞a̫̝ͥͮ́͛ͧͮ ͍̱̰̭͍̱ͬ̉ͧͧͮ͝n̺̺͔̭̝̂ ̡̯͑̈d̳͓͚͗̂ͩͬ̾̄ͅ ͝.͔̀̂̈̓͜_ _

__Both Asriel and the human did turn around. And they saw… a rather interesting sight._ _

__It was a skeleton. The human was not as surprised by this as they thought they would be. He had glitchy blocks obscuring his face, but the hand he had stretched out definitely had fingers made of bone._ _

__Upon seeing the skeleton, the human felt… Various emotions. Rather powerful, and mostly negative._ _

___this is why i don’t make promises._ _ _

__Fear. Pain. Frustration._ _

__Determination. Adrenaline._ _

___Delirium. Euphoria._ _ _

__The human shuddered violently, drawing their arms tightly around their chest and squeezing._ _

__Asriel had a… somewhat different reaction._ _

___Why won’t you let me win!?_ _ _

__Frustration started building up in his chest._ _

__Uncomfortable memories began to stir._ _

__Until he squeezed his eyes shut, clenched his hands into fists, and tried to let out a shaky breath._ _

__He opened his eyes to see the human reach out, and tentatively take the skeleton’s hand._ _

__An unexpected sound that, once again, the human and Asriel both realized they were expecting upon hearing it, ripped through the surrounding air._ _

__The human let out a very strained laugh._ _

__“h͝éh̶eh. ͞t̀he̴ old who͜opeȩ c̕u҉şh͡i͏on͜ ͠i̸n͢ ̴t͢he̶ ͠h́a҉n̴d̨ t̨riçk. It'̢s̷ ͡a͡lwa̵ys͡ f̢u͘n̴n̴y.͠ any̢w̡aỳs,͠ ̕on͜e òf̶ ̵yǫu̷'s̀ hu͏m̷an,͜ r͜i͟gh̛t?͞ that͢'s҉ ̴h̀i̧l̕ar̡i͡o͡us̨.͠ ͡i'm ̧s̡a͠n̸s͝. ̶san̡s the s̨ke͠l̷et̕on.̛ ̶”  
“Asriel and Chara Dreemurr… We’ve _met._ I’m friends with your brother,” Asriel tried saying. _ _

__S̠͈͇̹̬̮͚̾ͫ͊̉ͩ̚ǎ͛ǹ͇͕̮s̓̋̎̽ gave no indication of having heard Asriel._ _

__The human was decidedly creeped out by this._ _

__i’̡m a͜c͡t͢ua̧l̀ly̛ s̵u̡p̀po̷s͢ed t͏o҉ be ͢o̢n w͏a͞tch ͠f͟or ҉h̛um͘ans ̛r͘ight n̨ow͜.̛ b̢u͢t͢.̶..͠ ̨y͘’ķnow…͠ i d̴on’͠t͜ re̷áll͟y̶ ͟c͢are̢ ab҉ou̢t́ c͝a͢p̶tu͝r͢ing ̨an̵ybod̷y.”_ _

__The human shuffled back, getting really rather freaked out, Asriel grabbed the human’s sweater, and scowled at Ş̧̺̤̠̦͚͓̉̃̏ͬ̑̊͢ǎ̘ṅ̡̹̟̹͓s̵͉͓̬̬ͧ͗̑͟ͅ._ _

__“No,” he contradicted. “Why would the Royal Guard be trying to capture humans? _Chara’s_ a human, that doesn’t make any--” Asriel trailed off, then shook his head. “It doesn’t make sense.” _ _

__“nơw҉ ̵my b̕r͜other͢,͢ p̶apy͜r̢us҉… h͝e’s ͢a͢ ͘h̨u̷ma͝n-h̴ùnti͠ng fana̷t̢i͜c.̀”_ _

__The human grabbed Asriel’s sweater sleeve and continued backing up._ _

__“b̧u̶t ̡i͜ ͏d͡ón͝'͠t th̡ink̕ h͘e͢'̡ll be͏ ̴c͜om̀i҉n̨g d̕o̧wn ͏t̀h̴i͟s ͢w̸áy̸.” ҉_ _

__The human stopped, and exchanged a glance with Asriel._ _

__“b͢e ̧seȩi̕ǹg ̛yo͏u t͟ẁo͜.͢ B̴̦͓̰̋̾ͨ͒͌͒̀ ͈͔̝̔͛̈́͑ͨ͘͟e̞͎̾̅̾ͧ̀̚͜ ̊̌̏̋͟͏̵̩ ̲͎͂̌̏ͭͪ̾͡ ͖̳͓̉ͩͬͅg͈͒̑ͣ͆ ̡̗̺͙̮̭̹͎̌ͨͭͦ̉̿̉̀͞ͅǫ̼͙͋ͯ̾͛͗̾̚ ̘̳̙̼̒̉̋̊̔͜͝ō͚͈͙̘̗̇ͥͬ͘͠ ̸͙̝̫̟̗̦̯̱̻͗ͩ̂ͤ̈d͕͈̩ͮ̿ͦ̆ ̟̩̖̥̜̹̠̣̃ͩ͟͠,͙͚̓̉ͮ͂̐̾ͅ ̛̟̩͔͙̗̝̦̪̱̽̐̆͌̏́ ̢̨̱̪̹̝̭̞̜̻̙ͯ̓̀ ̱̫̭͍͕ͩͫͫ͊̀̏͊̌ͨ ̧̢̰͈̫͔ͩ̉̏͜k̵̛̖̙̹͑͘ ̧̗͈̜͇͓̐̔̓͆̍̋ͤͯ̅i̺̼̤̗͖̞̻ͤ̈ͬ̐ ̉́͏͎̟͖̪͖̬̦ḑ̗͓͎͇̦̞̥͎͋̎̋ͣ̇͛̍͜ ̷͈̘̖̬̤̹͌͂̂̇̀s̡̳̪̼̲ͥ͆̈́̔̓̽̆ͨ̀́͞ ̓ͭ̏ͩ̑҉͍̹͟.̖͓̘̪͔̼̝̪̞͑̐̉͆̂̉̂ͥ̀”_ _

__The world’s colors seemed to invert. Time stuttered, then skipped a beat._ _

__And S̝̲̦̻̗̬͉̻͂̂ͦ͗ͭͩ̀̀a͈̦̔̎̕n̝̻̫̙͋́ͤ̀̍̌ͣ̀ͅs͔̼ͬ̆ͮͧ͋̏͝ was gone._ _

__The human realized they were still shaking._ _

__“...I don’t think that that was supposed to happen…” Asriel muttered._ _

__The human was very determined to cling tightly to Asriel’s sleeve as the two continued walking._ _

__There was so much snow. And it seemed like no one else was around, but them… The human wondered where exactly S̭͍͔̽ͯ͊͗̕a̟̞͖̪̥͍̗͍͑̄͘n̜͚̋͐̚͡s̱̫̻̞̣͙͙̦̗ͤ̐͂͆ͬͣͯ had gone. It was like he had teleported away. Could he teleport back at any time? Did he need to know where they were to teleport to them?_ _

__Or did he already know because he was still following them…?_ _

__The human tried asking Asriel about S̵̵̬̹͋͑̍͡a͕̭̎̽͘n̡̹̤̤̟̘͛̇̅͊̏̽̊͆̀͞s͔̬̱̃ͪͫ̐͡'̃̌͏̝̼̲̹͉̝̰ brother._ _

__Asriel’s face had been worried, but upon hearing the human it seemed to lift a bit._ _

__“Oh, P͚͇͉̤̋͆a̠͕̝̍̈p̷̺̝̙͕̘̹̯̜̅̊̓̕͢y̶̱͕ͯ̑̑͗ͩ̌r̢̢̝̹̪̥ͩ̄̂͝ư̯͊͡͝ͅs̩͉̯̮̲̐ͨ͟? He’s my best friend, after you, of course, Chara. He’s my favorite t--” Asriel’s smile twitched slightly. “...Of the sentries. He wants to get into the Royal Guard, and he’s training under the captain of the Royal Guard, U̪̪̠͖̪͎̗͗̀ͅn̵̶̹̘̤͚̫̯̉̏ͫͨͮͅͅd̷̢̨̝͖̙̻͍̼͚̿̑̓͆͛̔͋ͫͅy̼̮̝̆̋̃ͮ̈̊̕n̢̄̾͐ͭ̓͗͢ͅê͋ͫ̅҉̫̼̝̠̱͞, right now. He’s really, really nice. Couldn’t hurt a fly. Too kind to fight back, even to save his own li--” Asriel stopped again, and frowned, putting a hand on his forehead. “...I think you’ll like him. If he isn’t, you know. All glitched up. Like mom was.”_ _

__Words hung unspoken. _And like S̷͎̯̫̫͖̰̭̓͌́̉̽̓́a̴̷̬̲̲̦͖͛͗n̡̳̱̜ͩ̏̐ș̸͓͙͚̮͙̪͍͌̽ͮ̃̇̈͊ͭ͝ͅ is…_ _ _

__The walked in silence._ _

__The human decided to try to get Asriel talking about something more comfortable again. They asked him if Toriel cooked anything else._ _

__Asriel clapped his hands together, his face lighting up completely now._ _

__“She and Dad _love_ cooking stuff! I mean, Mom’s way better at it than Dad is. But he still likes to help her out. Mom’s _best_ dish is definitely her lasagna, but she likes making pies way more. The desert kind of pie is the one she makes best. But once she made a really good shepherd’s pie for us, remember?” _ _

__The human did not remember._ _

__They nodded anyways._ _

__They were glad they had brought up this topic. It seemed to have distracted Asriel from the awkward and honestly somewhat terrifying situation at hand quite a bit. They smiled._ _

__Every so often they came across what looked like puzzles, or traps. A lot of them looked were already solved, or looked like they had not really been used in a while._ _

__In one case, a switch that was part of a puzzle was held down with vines._ _

__This made both the human and Asriel very uncomfortable for some reason that neither could place._ _

__Eventually they came across an odd scene. An unplugged microwave, a plate of frozen spaghetti, and a note. Asriel picked up the note, and he and the human read it together.  
_'ḨU͢MA̧N!́ PL͢EA̵SE͟ E̸NJ͟OY T͠H͠IS̨ SP͘A̷ĢH́E͢T͠TI. (ĻI̡TT͠L͜E D̛O YOU̸ ̨K͜NOW̕,͟ ̕TH͜I̡S͏ ͝S̴PAGH͞ET̛TI ̢ÍS A ͟T͡RA͜P…͘ ͢D͞E̛ŚIGN̵E̷D ͠TO͘ ̢E̢ǸT͝I̶C̶E ̨YOƯ!͢!͞!͞ YO͠U̴’L̕L͠ ̵BE̢ ̨S҉O BƯS̶Y̴ ͝E͡AT̕ÌNG̴ I͝T… ̕T̵H͝AT ̴Y͘O͡U͢ ͘W̵ƠN’T R̷E͘AL̷IZ̸E͝ YO҉U ̛AR̛EN͢’̷T ͏ṔROGRE͡S̕SI͘ŃG!! ̷TH́OR̶OUGH͡L̕Y ͞J̶APE̛D ̧AGA̶I͢N BY͏ ̸THE ̵GR̵E͜A͜T P͢APYRUŞ!̨!҉! ͘__ _

___N͞YE͠H ̨HEH HEH̡, ̡  
͏P̕A͝PY̢R̷US͟’_ _ _

__The human glanced at Asriel, a confused expression on their face._ _

__“P̨͙̻͓͉̼͍ͭ͆ͮ̆̾͛ͫ̿a̩̣̟̘̺̖̻͊̅͗̇̈́ͫͨ̓̚͟p̄̊̅ͦ͑͏̰̩͓̪̟̫̮̺̀y͆҉̫̟͚̬͍̗̪ͅr̡̀ͥͯͥ̒ͦ̆̒҉͔͚̳͕ư̶̘͙͕̪̮̮͖̺ͦ̒̄ͮs̶͎̯̳͖̬̐ͬ̈́̈́” can only really cook spaghetti,” Asriel explained. “U̵͚̦͉̹͈̞̪͎͌̓̚ń̦̝͒ͣ͊̒ͫ̚͜d̶͖͙̻ͯͬ̊̍̅ͪ͋͢ŷ̻̰̎ͥ͛̄͝n̘̼͈͚̟͙̖̯̪̽̇̐̈́̅̐͐̊ͦe̡̻͕̖̹̺͍̻̔ͯͧͩ́ taught him, but neither are very good cooks to begin with…”_ _

__The human nodded, and asked if it was worth it to try and eat the spaghetti. Asriel confirmed that no, it really was not._ _

__They continued walking. Neither met anyone else… Until they got onto a long bridge._ _

__Asriel pointed out the tiny trees far below them, smudged by distance._ _

__“See that? It’s not real, it’s a painting! P̧̟͚̥̔ͦ͆́a͙͇͉̠͙ͤͯ̆̓̿̆̽p̴̞̟͂͝y̸̸͖̬ͮͨ͠ŗ͇͓̠͚͍̹ͨͮ̂̇ͨ̓̽̚͠u̞̘̘̬̣̖ͯ͢s̍̾͘͏̰͓͚̩̭̤͙ is actually pretty good with them, but he wants to get into the Royal Guard so bad he doesn’t really use it a whole lot, I don’t think…”_ _

__They walked across the bridge, and stopped._ _

__There were two skeletons waiting for them. The human had seen one of them before, but could easily figure out who the other was._ _

__S̢̪̻͔̝̣̖̯̯̒ͣ͗̉͐̚͟ã͖͙̪͇̽̈͘̕n͔̠̹͇͖͖̳͔̘ͭ̊̓́͜͢s̵̢̼̬̬̠̖̀̀̀̓͊̓̅ͨ̚ ̵̲̪̰̫̹̱̫̑͋͢ͅä̗̰͉͐͋ͯ͆ņ͓̮̮̹͍̼̓̾͊̀͜dͪ̌̿ͯ̍̊̈͏̵͍͕̭͕̩̩̗̙̕ ̠̝͎ͨ̐ͥP̛̙̺̭̤͎̈̋͊ͮ̉͢a̴̢̠̼̖͖̍̄̉͞p͖̣͚̠͎̪͊̑ͧ͑ͫ̕͢͢ỵ̬͋͊̕r̭̙̼͓̺̣̩̥̍̔͆ͥͩ̈ư̙͖̱͒ͤͫͫ̂̆̉̽s̟̙̞̝̬̤ͣ͋̈́͛ͦ̓̑.̶͕̰̹̫̬̞̖̃͋̓ ̴̳̥͓̗̰͋ͣ̋ͯ͋ͬ̂̉̀_ _

__“HUMAN! T̨HIS̶ ͞I͏S YOU͠R ̛F҉I͏NA͞L̨ AN̶D̸ MOST D͞A͠N̴G̀EROU͢S CHA͠L̶LENG̨E̛!́ B͢EH̸OL͞D̢! ͏TH̵E̕ ̵G̢AU̸NTLET͟ ̡OF ḐE͠AD̀L̀Y TE͜RRO̷R͘!̧”_ _

__The human frowned, tilting their head to the side. ‘Final’ challenge? Implying that there had been others, previous to this one?_ _

__Nevertheless, they managed to carefully push past Asriel and brandish their stick._ _

__...Absolutely nothing happened._ _

__“ẂHE͜N͞ ̛I ̕SÀY͢ ̨T͜H͞E ͠W̕ORD, ̀IT W̶ILL FULLY̨ ̡AC͢TIVA͜T́E! C̕AŃNÓǸŚ ͠WI̢LL͠ F͜I̧R̡E!͟ S̨P̕IK͟ES ͏W̡IL̕L͡ SW͡IŅG̷!҉ BL͜ADES͝ ̢WIL͏L͘ ̀S͜L͘IC͜E!̕ E҉ACH ̡P͟A̧R̶T ̢WI̴LL ͡SWI̢N͢G͝ V̡I͜ǪLEN͝T͞L̴Y̛ ̷UP͝ ̴AN͡D͘ D̛O͘WN! O͜NL̷Y TH̸Ȩ TI̵N̴IE̸ST ̶C҉HANCE̵ ̡OF VIC̀TO҉R͟Y ͏WI͏LL̡ ̴R͏E̶MA̧ÍN͠!̛”_ _

__The human and Asriel were both extremely confused. Was something supposed to be happening? P̧̢̥̤̓͊̅̓̽̆ͬͅã̫̘̮͍̱̩͈ͪ̈ͬ͑p̦̞͈͔̊ͩ͂̑ͪ̏̚ÿ͚̞͙͖̺́ͤ͗̚͠r͓ͦͯ̄u̐͒̿͛̓ͧ҉̢̼̲̥̥̟s͉͇͓̠̹ͪ had obviously noticed that they were there. He _was_ talking to them. But… Something was really off. This seemed worse than what had been happening to Toriel, or when they had previously met S̺̙͍̹̭̝̥ͤ̈̅͆̊͜͠å̵̯̘̩͓̘̩̤̿ͥ̓ͬ͗̕͡ṇ̳̞̳̳̜̫̈́̈̽̀s̹̜̝͍͚̳̮̤͌̌̓͘͞ͅ. _ _

__The human was very determined to find out what was going on._ _

__They strode up to P̘̠̝͇ͬͦ͌ͪ̄͗a̰͇̮̳͇͉̰ͨͣͩ̌ͬ̌͞p͋̾͘҉̢̺̲͕yͮͣͭ̌͛̈́ͥ҉̩͎͢r̢̗͈̤͓͊͜u̵̵͚̞̺̺̠͖̳̜̿̓͂͗͟s̸̤̱̞͙̆̒̋̿ͧ́̌̕͟, who continued talking as if he had not noticed the human moving. And they poked him, right on his white chestplate._ _

__He stopped._ _

__The human bounced up and down on their toes, watching expectantly._ _

__And then he continued talking, as if nothing had happened. “A͠B͜OUT̛!͜ ŢO D̀O ͜IT̷!”_ _

__And then he just stopped moving. Completely._ _

__The human spun around to face Asriel again, a look of confusion and minor frustration very evident on their face._ _

__Asriel’s expression mirrored their own._ _

__“...Hey, Chara,” Asriel said. “I know this is… honestly kind of scary. And really, _really_ weird. But… I think I have an idea to fix this?” _ _

__The human nodded eagerly._ _

__“We were in that FIGHT with Mom.”_ _

__The human’s face fell._ _

__“J-just hear me out? Anyways, after we managed to end the FIGHT with Mom, she stopped being so… glitchy, and started acknowledging us again, right?”_ _

__The human slowly nodded._ _

__Asriel grinned. “Maybe if we can start a FIGHT with P̜͓̪̼̤̅̀ͣͥå̠̮͔̬͖̩͖̟̂p͎̞̗̻͍̂̓̌͐̽́̕y͉̣̗̙͙̪͐̈́̈́͌̄̔ͨ͞ṟ̣͚̻͉͉̮͍̙̓̏͆͞ư̙͇͖̦͂̓ͨ́s̨̻̟̒ ̶̨͎̲̱̹̼̦͕̹ͭͯä̴̶̠͍̺̜̣̝̻̓͒̇ͯͪn̹̘̱͉͚̤ͩ̑ͯ̋̿͋̎̇̾͘͡d̛̼̦̠̈́ͭ̐̍̎͒ͭ͗ ͋̃̕͏̮̼͉͝S̫̰̲͎͔̖̣͕ͭͤ̏̓̌͜a̭̺̼̮͍͐̌̿͑͂͐ͦ̀͟ņ̦̤̹͍̘̃̿̕͟ͅs̫̲͉͆́, the same thing will happen! They could remember us, and maybe we can figure out why this is happening, or what’s causing it and--”_ _

__The human told Asriel their doubts. They didn’t like the feeling of being in a FIGHT… It made them panic. They didn’t like it._ _

__Asriel closed the distance between them. “Then just dodge. I froze up when we were in the FIGHT with Mom… But I’ll be expecting it this time. So I won’t do that again, and you won’t have to worry about me… I promise.”_ _

__The human was unsure._ _

__Asriel’s face fell. “...Can we please just give it a try? I was to at least try to save them, and that’s the only idea I have…”_ _

__The human said they wanted to save the skeletons too, but there had to be a way that didn’t involve a FIGHT--_ _

__S͕̩̰̯̪̝̋̒̽a̩̙̼̟̼̰̪͕͂̍͋̀̚͞ͅn̐ͭ͏̸͈͙̺͚̥͡s̶̛̠̥̗̈́͂ͣ̇ finally spoke up._ _

__“w͞e̛l̛l͡?͘ ͝w͠hat’s ͞th̛e ̷hól͜dup҉?͞”_ _

__“ḨOLD͡ÙP?͏ ̷W̵H̢A̛T҉ ͜H̴OL̸DUP̡?̀”_ _

__The human froze up, not expecting them to suddenly start talking again._ _

__They asked Asriel if they could just go. It was too creepy for them. They didn’t like it._ _

__Asriel nodded, took the human’s arm, and started walking quickly. The human willingly let themself get dragged. Asriel and the human squeezed past P̢͎͎̦̘͖̤͖̺ͥͦ̽͡a̶̸͈̟͙͔͎ͭ̑́ͭ̐̒̚͟p̊͋̓̓ͮ̈͂ͫ͏͚̼̙̜̩͈̙y̧͓̘͍̼̦̟̠ͯ̃͐̎̐ͤͥ̈́͡r̢͙͗͜͠u͎͎͙̻̭͎̘̻ͪ̌̿ͧ̒s̶̥̺̤͕͖̩̀ͧ̈ͭ́͠, and started speedily walking away._ _

__“W h ̨͡͠e̵ r̷͞͝ e͏ ̛͏ ҉̵͘ ̨̀͡d̡ ͏ó͡҉ ͢ ̶̵͝ ͜͡y ҉́ớ ̧̛̕u͢ ͟͡ t̸́ ̨͟h̛ ̕͝i̧̛ ͡n͘ k͡ ̶̢͡ ̀͘ ̸y͏͠ ̧́o̴ ͏̷̧u ̕'̸̨ ̕͏r͢͜ e͡͡ ̨͡ ̶͘ ͜g ҉͠ó̴͘ ̀͏í͏ ̷͢n҉҉ ̸̧͡g̨͠ ̡͝?”_ _

__The human nearly stopped, their head swinging around to look at S̠̥̯̗͒̓͑ͫͯ̉à̜̟͔̽͂ͮ́͢n͓̩̤̘͉ͤ͒̋͐̓͑̔̀͟͜ŝ̻͉̩̳͂̓ͯ͝ with terrified eyes._ _

__Asriel kept them from stopping by speeding up._ _

__“Ś̛͡͡ ̧̀͘͞t̢͞ ̶͜o̵̧͟ ̷̴p̷̸̢͜ .”_ _

__The two started to run._ _

__This was not supposed to happen._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well gosh golly gobsmackers, that's not supposed to happen. 
> 
> The Inner Timeline is very fun to write. I love doing the interactions between Asriel and the human~  
> Sans is also fun to write. :3  
> Dropped a couple more hints as to what the fork is going on in the Inner Timeline, have fun with those~


	11. Pacifist 2.1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans is really weird.   
> I am not saying this as a bad thing. I was told to describe myself in three sentences once, and basically just wrote 'really weird' instead.   
> But we're not here to focus on Sans, we are here to focus on the Inner Runner, Asriel Dreemurr, the Paci Runner, and the Geno Runner. Because they are our three protagonists.

**Triad  
Arc 2: Snowdin   
Part 1**

_Pacifist_

A lot of things in the Underground simply refused to change. 

One of them was the weather. Snow always lay on the ground in Snowdin though it never actually snowed, always ‘raining’ in predictable places and patterns, and it was always sweltering hot in Hotland, and just a bit cooler in New Home. 

This was something many of the denizens--

_...This train of thought seems familiar._

The human was utterly unperturbed by their encounter with Flowey. Outwardly unflappable as always. 

They walked forwards, eyes straight ahead. They more or less ignored everything that seemed to happen around them. They ignored the loud crack behind them, and the flickerings in the corner of their eye. 

They had a goal. And they were roughly a fifth of the way towards it. 

Not much progress. Which was why they needed to move faster. 

Suddenly, they stopped. There was a wooden bridge in front of them… They felt like something was supposed to happen here. 

A soft but serious and pronounced voice spoke behind them. Like the echoes that bounce back at you when you shout into a chasm. 

“H u m a n. Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand...” 

Still unfazed, the human spun around and did as instructed. 

An unexpected sound ripped through the surrounding area

They could see the source of the voice now. It seemed to be a skeleton. 

All sorts of extremely powerful and mostly negative emotions ripped through the human for a few moments, and their blank expression briefly dropped. 

_this is why i don’t make promises._

Fear. Pain. Frustration. 

Determination. Adrenaline. 

_Delirium. Euphoria._

The human shuddered slightly in confusion at the last two, and quickly returned their face to a blank expression. 

The skeleton either didn’t see the human’s expressions, or didn’t remark on them. 

“heheh... the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it’s _always_ funny. anyways, you’re a human, right? that’s hilarious.” 

The human just nodded along. 

“i’m sans. sans the skeleton.” 

The human did not respond. 

“i’m actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. but... y’know… i don’t really care about capturing anybody.” 

The skeleton talked too much, and the familiar emotions the arose when he was nearby were making the human uncomfortable. 

They sort of zoned out for the rest of his speech. 

And now the skeleton was pushing the human along the path. The human was annoyed by this. 

They stopped in a clearing. An oddly shaped lamp, and some sort of station were in it too. 

“quick, behind that conveniently shaped lamp,” Sans told the human. 

The human shuffled over to the aforementioned lamp, and crouched down behind it. 

They could hear loud boots crunching the snow, rapidly approaching. The human shrugged, and started to stealthily crawl through the snow. It got their sweater wet and made their bare legs get cold, but they didn’t particularly care. 

They could hear that skeleton talking with someone else, his quiet tones contrasting with loud shouts of whoever he was talking to. But the human tuned that out. They inched forwards. Nobody seemed to have noticed them. 

They were nearly out of the clearing. They were close to the treeline, where they could get behind a tree, stand up, and continue walking. 

However, instead they found themselves being tripped over. The breath was knocked out of their as they sprawled out in the snow, limbs flying everywhere, their body being buffeted by gangly skeletal limbs as well. 

The human stood up, and stared blankly at the skeleton they had just collided with. 

It was much taller than the first one they had met. It seemed to be wearing weird armor of some kind, red gloves and boots, and a bright red scarf. It quickly got up, its gaze seeming to light on the human. Its hands flew up to its mouth. 

“DID I JUST TRIP OVER YOU!? I AM SO SORRY I DID NOT SEE YOU AT ALL! YOU ARE GREAT AT BEING NOT NOTICED! ALMOST AS GREAT AS SANS WHEN HE SUDDENLY APPEARS BEHIND PEOPLE!” the taller skeleton gasped. 

The human stared blankly. 

“...YOU MUST BE THOROUGHLY FLABBERGASTED BY BEING TRIPPED OVER BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS! WHILE IT WOULD PROBABLY FEEL EVEN BETTER TO NOT BE TRIPPED OVER AT ALL, AT LEAST YOU HAD THE HONOR OF BEING TRIPPED OVER SOMEONE AS GREAT AS I!” 

“just goes to show, even the greatest sentries aren’t… in _fall_ ible,” the shorter skeleton piped up. 

“SANS THAT WAS BEYOND TERRIBLE!” the taller skeleton yelled. 

The human stared blankly. 

“WELL! I AM OFF TO CHECK ON MY PUZZLES AGAIN! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH~” the taller one yelled, before racing off. 

The human walked after them, at a leisurely pace. But the shorter skeleton’s voice made them stop. 

“actually... hate to bother ya, but can ya do me a favor? i was thinking… my bro’s been kinda down lately. he’s never seen a human. and seeing you might just make his day.” 

The human informed him that his ‘brother’ had already seen them. 

The shorter skeleton paused a second. “could ya maybe just… play along? let him have a good time? don’t worry, he’s not dangerous even when he tries to be.” 

The human continued walking, giving no indication if they intended to do so or not. 

They reflected on the emotions they had felt when encountering the other skeleton, the taller one. There had been mostly… guilt. Regret. Lots of guilt and regret. Strange. 

...Only to encounter the two skeletons yet again. 

“SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE,” the taller one was shouting, before noticing the human. 

...And then both started spinning? 

The human stared straight ahead, zoning out for the entire speech that the taller skeleton presented. 

Some words penetrated through their daze. 

The taller skeleton finally recognized them as human. It was apparently kind of slow. 

The taller skeleton… Also got a sense of familiarity from the human? Strange. 

The rest was something about being captured. 

After the taller one had left, the shorter one started talking to them. “well. that went well. don’t sweat it, kid. i’ll keep an eyesocket out for ya.” At which point the shorter skeleton walked after the taller one. 

The human followed, at their own slow, relentless pace. 

They encountered another monster. A bird with a crystalline crest on its head and a toothy beak. 

“Ice puns are snow problem!” the bird informed the human, before sending out an icy attack. The human visibly twitched, before dodging the crescent shapes that the bird’s magic manifested into. 

Once the attacks stopped, the human let out a dry laugh. 

The crystal-bird’s eyes lit up. “See!? Laughs! Dad was wrong!” It started hopping around gleefully. The human walked straight past it, not giving it another look. 

The next monster to attack them was a rather oddly dressed dog. The human stopped, staring at it. 

The dog’s nose twitched, and its eyes darted back and forth, nervously. “Did something move? Was it my imagination? I can only see moving things… If something _was_ moving… For example, a human… I’ll make sure it _never_ moves again!” 

The human frowned as the world went black and they entered a FIGHT. Why would the dog tell a potential foe about a major weak spot? 

The human stood stock still, the dog’s light blue magic passing harmlessly through them. Confused, the dog bounded up to the human to sniff them more… Only for the human to pet them. 

The dog leaped backwards, looking very surprised, but not in an unpleasant way. “WHAT!!! I’VE BEEN PET!!!” it exclaimed. It began pacing back and forth repeating ‘pot’ and ‘pet’ to itself in a gleeful way. The human strode on past. 

` In the next clearing, they noticed that shorter skeleton again. They gave him a blank expression. 

“hey, here’s something important to remember,” that skeleton informed them. “my brother has a very _special attack._ if you see a blue attack, don’t move and it wo--” 

The human stepped onto a nearby ice patch, and skidded away. 

Sans stared after them. 

...The kid was familiar. That was for sure. However, there was something very _offputting_ about them. 

Bad feelings aside, the kid hadn’t killed anyone since Sans had started watching them. 

_Snow problems here, as far as icy. So long as they don’t start flaking out on me._

Then again, he had come to learn putting aside those familiar bad feelings sometimes led to pretty bad times for the Underground’s inhabitants. 

The human happened upon the two skeletons again rather quickly. 

The human was surprised to see the shorter one again already. 

The taller one was shouting raucously again. “REALLY THOUGH!!! THAT HUMAN!!! DO I KNOW THAT PERSON???” 

“do you not know who you know?” 

The taller one blew a raspberry. How he accomplished that with no lips was a mystery. “OF COURSE I KNOW WHO I KNOW!! I WANTED TO KNOW IF YOU KNOW, I KNOW WHO I KNOW AS MUCH AS I KNOW I KNOW WHO I KNOW! ...YOU KNOW?” 

The human placed a palm on their forehead. They were beginning to get dizzy, keeping up with this conversation. 

The skeletons finally noticed the human. 

“OH-HO! SPEAK OF THE DEVIL! IN ORDER TO STOP YOU, MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES! I THINK YOU WILL FIND THIS ONE…” the tall one paused dramatically. “QUITE SHOCKING!” 

Sans grinned at Papyrus. 

The human stared blankly. 

“FOR, YOU SEE, THIS IS THE INVISIBLE… ELECTRICITY MAZE!!! WHEN YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THIS MAZE, THIS ORB WILL ADMINISTER A HEARTY ZAP!” the skeleton took out the aforementioned orb. “SOUND LIKE FUN???” 

The human stared blankly. 

“BECAUSE!” he continued, “THE AMOUNT OF FUN YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE…” his volume tapered off a tiny bit. “...IS ACTUALLY RATHER SMALL, I THINK.” He brightened up again. “OKAY! YOU CAN GO AHEAD NOW!” 

These skeletons were making the human somewhat uncomfortable. They were familiar, and not in the strange deja-vu way that had been feeling about almost everything. 

At any rate, they did not inform the taller skeleton of the possibly fatal error in his plan. 

The human sighed, and stepped forwards onto the space that they thought was the puzzle. 

The orb suddenly shocked the skeleton. It reminded the human of those old cartoons where when someone was shocked, their skeleton would show. 

It had been quite a while since they had seen a cartoon. 

There was awkward silence for a few moments. 

The taller skeleton began stomping their foot repeatedly. “SANS!!! WHAT DID YOU DO!?!?” 

“i think the human has to hold the orb.” 

“OH! OKAY.” 

The taller skeleton ran through the snow, walking in a specific pattern, and leaving very clear footprints in the snow. 

The skeleton beamed at the human as he dropped the orb into their hands. “HERE YOU GO!” The human didn’t respond, and instead just followed the footprints off the puzzle area. 

The taller skeleton was flabbergasted. “INCREDIBLE! YOU SLIPPERY SNAIL! YOU SOLVED IT SO EASILY! TOO EASILY…” The skeleton paused. “THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE SO EASY! IT IS DESIGNED BY--” 

The human started zoning out again. 

And as it turns out, the next puzzle was exactly that easy. 

“SANS! THAT DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!” 

“whoops. i knew i should’ve used today’s crossword instead.” 

The human nodded at this. 

“WHAT!? CROSSWORD!? I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT!! IN MY OPINION, JUNIOR JUMBLE IS CLEARLY THE HARDEST.” 

“what? really, dude? that easy-peasy word scramble? that’s for babybones.” 

“UN. BELIEVABLE.” 

The human nodded in an agreeable way at that. 

“HUMAN!!! SOLVE THIS DISPUTE!” 

The human pointed at the taller skeleton. He seemed delighted by this. 

“HAHA! YES! HUMANS MUST BE VERY INTELLIGENT IF THEY ALSO FIND JUNIOR JUMBLE SO DIFFICULT!” He dashed off with a series of ‘nyeh heh heh’s. 

The human turned to the shorter skeleton. He winked. “thanks for saying ‘junior jumble’ just to appease my brother.” 

The human indicated that the shorter skeleton was weird, before walking away. 

After walking shortly, the human encountered more dogs. It was simple to distract them and get away. Just pet them a couple times. 

They encountered the skeletons yet again. 

The taller one said something about a switch puzzle. The human contemplated it, before solving it. The tall one was impressed. 

“you must be really good at puzzles. i mean, it’s impossible for you to have seen this one before,” the shorter one remarked. 

The human stared at them, quizzically. 

Just a few steps and the human saw the two again. 

“HEY! IT’S THE HUMAN! YOU’RE GONNA LOVE THIS PUZZLE! IT WAS MADE BY THE GREAT DOCTOR ALPHYS!” 

The human stared at the greyscale tiles lightly dusted by snow. 

“YOU SEE THESE TILES!? ONCE I THROW THIS SWITCH, THEY WILL BEGIN TO CHANGE COLOR! EACH COLOR HAS A DIFFERENT FUNCTION!” 

The taller one launched into a lengthy explanation of what each color did, which the human did not hear a word of as they were completely zoned out. 

The taller one threw the switch, and the greyscale tiles sprung to life, pulsing a pattern of blinding and random colors and patterns. The taller skeleton started shifting from one foot to another excitedly, while the human was unimpressed. 

It settled on two walls of red with a corridor of pink going straight through. 

There was an awkward pause. 

...The human was surprised when the taller skeleton just sort of… spun away. 

...Okay then? 

The human poked the floor with one of their sneakers, then walked straight across with no adverse effects. 

They continued walking. 

The next puzzle was… interested. They contemplated it for some time, before confidently skidding across the ice, and stepping on several switches. 

And they managed to complete on their second try. 

Leading to them skidding straight through a thickly wooded area. They quickly brushed the snow that had landed on their head, in the shape of a perfect sphere, off. 

The human strode decisively through the next few areas. Until they reached a bridge. There was something just the tiniest bit _off_ about the tiny landscape below them, but nothing they could place immediately. They walked carefully across the bridge, their hands clinging tightly to the rope railings. 

It was cold. 

They had to keep going. 

They stopped when they saw the skeletons again. 

“HUMAN! THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE! BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!” 

Several painful looking weapons, and one fluffy white dog, were lowered down on ropes. The human squinted, wondering what the ropes were attached to. 

The taller one spread out his arms, gesticulating wildly at the various weaponry, and lone canine. 

“WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE! CANNONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE! EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN! ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN!” 

The human was mildly taken aback. This was… a step up from the previous puzzles. 

“ARE YOU READY!?” 

The human shrugged. 

“BECAUSE! I! AM! ABOUT! TO DO IT!” 

The human waited, patiently. 

There were a few minutes of awkward silence… 

The human stared at the taller skeleton, but kept a wary eye on the various traps. 

The shorter one finally broke the ice. 

“well? what’s the holdup?” 

“HOLDUP? WHAT HOLDUP? I’M... I’M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE IT NOW!” 

More awkward silence. 

“...that, uh, doesn’t look very activated.” 

The taller one let out an exasperated huff. “WELL!! THIS CHALLENGE!” And his voice dropped in tone marginally. “IT SEEMS… MAYBE… TOO EASY TO DEFEAT THE HUMAN WITH.” 

The human waited. And zoned out. And the weaponry retreated. The human frowned in confusion when they could not see where, exactly, the weaponry went… 

The taller one seemed a bit more uncertain as he nyeh-heh-heh’d away. 

The human finished crossing the bridge, and walked onwards.


	12. Genocide 2.1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which the Geno Runner is very confused by the basic concepts of puzzles.

**Triad  
** Arc 2: Snowdin  
Part 1 

_Genocide_

A lot of things in the Underground simply refused to change. 

One of them was the weather. Snow always lay on the ground in Snowdin though it never actually snowed, always ‘raining’ in predictable places and patterns, and it was always sweltering hot in Hotland, and just a bit cooler in New Home. 

This was something many of the denizens of the Underground had been born with, and were therefore used to. Even King Asgore’s memories had begun to blur together after so many years. 

Many other things were repeated and recycled in the Underground. A lot of the things monsters used in day to day life were scavenged from Waterfall’s trash heaps, things that the humans had thrown away, not knowing or caring where they would end up. 

The thing that few people really _knew_ was recycled surprisingly often, and marginally more _suspected_ , was that time was recycled as well. 

For this reason, anything that seemed like it _could_ be new was of intense interest to Sans. 

The seventh human to fall to the Underground was no exception. 

They stumbled out of the Ruins, and didn’t bother to shut the door behind them. They seemed surprised to see how cold it was, and by the presence of snow. 

They walked forwards, leaning on a stick as they stepped forwards. They had an odd way of walking. All up on their tip-toes, and shuffling forwards, not raising their feet off the ground very much. 

They also seemed to be covered in dust. 

...He had a feeling that this human may be sticking around for a while. 

The human themself had calmed down somewhat since their encounter with Flowey. Mostly because they had been in a daze since their encounter with him, and really had not been thinking straight. Or thinking at all, really. They simply wandered forwards, hoping that if they continued down the route they had chosen it would lead them out of the Underground eventually. 

When they heard a loud crunch, that shocked them out of their dazed state. They noticed the snow on the ground, and for a moment their Soul fluttered as they looked up, wondering if perhaps they had reached the surface again already. 

They felt a sinking feeling as they saw the Underground’s rock ceiling far above them. 

Still Underground. 

So they had to keep going. 

But now instead of in a dazed state, they seemed to be hyper aware of their surroundings. Something had made that huge crack, after all. Something presumably powerful, and therefore dangerous. 

The sound of soft footsteps in snow, and a flickering at the edge of their vision like something moving. 

Were they being followed? 

Their heart rate increased, and they felt dizzy again. They lifted up their stick, holding it in front of them, and continued to slowly shuffled forwards, constantly turning their head to look around. Their eyes were wide open. 

They came to a bridge, and stopped because they could swear they felt _some kind of presence behind them and cold breath on the back of their neck._

There was something right behind them. 

They didn’t want to turn around. 

They were between a narrow bridge over a chasm of indeterminate depth, and an unknown _thing_ that may or may not be hostile. 

A soft but serious and pronounced voice spoke behind them. Like the accidental hollowing of the wind. 

“H u m a n--” 

They couldn’t take it anymore. 

The whirled around, brandishing their stick, an expression of terror on their face. 

And then they slipped in the snow, falling backwards. Their back hit the frozen ground and their head bonked against the wooden bridge. 

“...Welp.” 

The human was trying very hard to look like they could still defend themselves while laying on the ground. With only a stick as weaponry. It really wasn’t working. 

“...Let’s try that again. N e e d a h a n d, h u m a n?” 

The human’s vision was tunneling and they couldn’t really see whatever it was that was standing over them too clearly and their ears were ringing and they were dizzy. When the thing offered them a hand up they grabbed it without thinking, squeezing as tightly as they could. 

An unexpected sound ripped through the surrounding area as they were helped up. 

The human blinked in mild confusion. They had never figured out what, exactly, was so funny about whoopee cushions. 

They got even more confused upon seeing who, or what, had helped them up. 

It was a skeleton? 

...How was it not collapsing into a pile of bones? The human thought that you needed muscles to move your bones? Maybe the skeleton had invisible muscles, but the human was gripping the skeleton’s hand right now and all they felt was bone and a whoopee cushion? Not that they knew what, exactly, bone felt like, but they did know what skin felt like and they weren’t feeling it. 

The skeleton was grinning at them. Instead of eyes, it had pitch black eyesockets with dull pupils made of some kind of light. 

It was rather difficult for the human to read the skeleton’s expressions. That made them feel uneasy. 

The human removed their hand from the skeleton’s, and the skeleton immediately placed both of his(?) hands in his(?) pockets. 

It was a skeleton, so the human was guessing on its gender, assuming that his(?) was the voice they had heard earlier. The voice had _sounded_ male, but there were a lot of things the human could not tell about the skeleton. 

“heheheh. the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. It’s _always_ funny.” The skeleton looked at the human expectantly. “...that’s, uh. your cue to laugh. or, uh, to emote at all…?” the skeleton winked, closing his left eye. 

The human blinked several times. They were pretty sure bone wasn’t capable of moving like that? 

They seemed to be too busy being confused to register anything else properly. 

The previous few hours had been rather long for them. 

“gee, lady, you really know how to pick ‘em, huh…?” the skeleton muttered under his breath. 

The human narrowed their eyes and tapped the skeleton’s shoulder, trying to remind him that they were literally _right there._

The skeleton nodded at the human. “okay. that’s fine. everyone’s got their own sense of humor. i’m sans. sans the skeleton.” 

The human informed Sans that they were a human, in a tone that held the vaguest hint of sarcasm. 

“i’m actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now--” 

At which point the human raised their stick defensively. 

Sans seemed to take note of the stick’s dusty tip. “but... y’know… i don’t really care about capturing anybody.” 

The human blinked, confusion flooding back into their face. _Capture?_ Their heart rate started accelerating again. 

Sans didn’t seem to notice this. If he did, he didn’t react to it. “now my brother, papyrus… he’s a human-hunting _fanatic._ hey, actually, i think that’s him over there.” 

The human felt faint. Maybe the Ruins would be safer after all. 

They tried walking around Sans to go back into the Ruins. However, the skeleton stopped them. “hey, hey. calm down, papyrus wouldn’t hurt a fly.” 

The human looked at him like he was crazy. 

His grin seemed to widen. “i have an idea. go through this gate thingy. yeah, go right through. my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone.” 

Without waiting for a response, Sans spun the human around and started steering them forwards. 

They stopped in a clearing. An oddly shaped lamp, and some sort of station were in it too. 

“quick, behind that conveniently shaped lamp,” Sans told the human. 

The human turned around to look at Sans like he was crazy, again. Just for good measure. 

“...uh. okay. i guess you don’t have to?” Sans shrugged. 

The human could hear loud crunching sounds in the snow. A much taller skeleton, wearing white armor and a bright red scarf, raced onto the scene. 

“SANS!!!” the other skeleton, presumably Papyrus, yelled. The human winced and covered their ears. “HAVE YOU FOUND A HUMAN YET!?!?” 

“yeah.” It was hard to hear Sans’ soft voice after the human’s ears were left ringing by Papyrus’ shouts. 

The human futilely tried to ready their stick while still covering their ears, but only managed to drop their stick and leave their ears defenseless for the audial onslaught. 

Papyrus’ face lit up. “REALLY!?!? WOWIE!!! GUESS THAT’S SETTLED!!” At which point he dashed away. 

The human spun to face Sans with a look somewhere between panic and ‘you really are crazy, aren’t you’. 

“that worked out, huh?” Sans replied. 

The human slapped a hand against their forehead, and retrieved their stick. Their ears were still ringing. 

They briefly debated going back into the Ruins, before deciding to continue along. 

Without Toriel, the Ruins probably weren’t any safer than out here. 

Before they managed to leave the clearing however, Sans began speaking again. 

“well, i’ll be straight-forward with you.” 

The human turned to face Sans. Sans didn’t even seem to be looking at them. 

“my brother’d really like to see a human… so, y’know, it’d really help me out… if you kept pretending to be one.” 

The scratched their head, asking Sans what they are if they aren’t a human. However instead of responding he simply walked back towards the Ruins. 

The human stared after him for five full minutes trying to make sense of this, before giving up and continuing in the direction they _had_ been going before Sans had spoken up. 

As they walked, and entered a new area, something familiar happened. Color drained, tugging sensation, bright red Soul-- 

_NONONONONO--_

Before they even registered what had happened, the human had sliced their stick through the air, and dust was drifting downwards. 

They blinked, shivering, and decided to just walk faster. 

Pretty soon, they saw Sans and Papyrus again. 

Or, more accurately, they heard Papyrus before they saw either skeleton. 

“SO SANS! WHEN’S THE HUMAN SHOWING UP??? I WANT TO LOOK MY SUNDAY BEST… OR AT LEAST MY TUESDAY PRETTY GOOD!” Papyrus was in the middle of saying when the human arrived. 

Was it Sunday? Or Tuesday? The human had lost track of time since they had fallen down here… Since there was no sun or moon, it was hard to tell the days apart. 

“don’t you only have one outfit?” Sans asked. He seemed to have noticed the human nearby. 

“YEAH, BUT I COULD STYLE MY HAIR!” Papyrus replied. 

“oh. right. good idea,” Sans agreed. 

The human started wondering about invisible skin again. Maybe that was a thing that existed, and the skeletons also had invisible hair? But then what was the point of styling it? 

Sans winked in the humans direction. “say, why don’t you look over there?” 

Papyrus did so. The human gave a tiny wave. 

At which point the skeletons both started spinning. 

… 

The human was so very confused by this. 

Papyrus turned back to Sans and started speaking in what was probably supposed to be a whisper, but the human could hear extremely easily. “SANS!!! OH MY GOD!!! I’M DIZZY, WHAT AM I LOOKING AT?” 

“behold,” Sans announced. Papyrus turned to look in the human’s direction. 

The human waved again. 

“OH MY GOD!!!” Papyrus yelled, then turned back to Sans before asking flatly “WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME TO LOOK AT A ROCK.” 

“hey, what’s that in front of the rock?” 

The human waved their stick like they were waving a flag of surrender. 

Papyrus finally seemed to notice the human. His face lit up. “OH MY GOD!!!” He turned back to Sans, before saying in the same excited tone of voice “I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT IS!” 

The human shrugged, and just sat down on the snow. This might take a while. 

“well,” Sans began, “it’s not a rock.” 

Papyrus turned back to the human, a look of intense concentration on his face. “NOT A ROCK…?” A look of realization. “OH NO!!! BY PROCESS OF ELIMINATION!!! THAT MEANS IT’S A HUMAN!” 

The human applauded Papyrus’ impressive reasoning skills, and gave him a thumbs up. Papyrus was delighted. 

Papyrus turned around, brushing off his armor, positioning his scarf correctly, and mentally psyching himself up, before turning back around to face the human. There was a big grin on his face, and he took a step forwards as he pointed dramatically at the human. 

“AHEM!! HUMAN!! PREPARE YOURSELF!! FOR HIJINKS! FOR LOW JINKS! DANGERS! PUZZLES! CAPERS! JAPERS!” 

The human wondered if the capers would be served with crackers. They were sort of enjoying themselves now. 

“BEING CAPTURED!! AND OTHER SORTS OF FUN ACTIVITIES.” 

Wait what. 

“REFRESHMENTS WILL BE PROVIDED…” 

The human liked the idea of refreshments, but wasn’t so sure about being captured. 

Papyrus finished off by posing dramatically and shouting “IF YOU DARE!!!” before racing off shouting “NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH~” 

Sans turned to the human. “...and you don’t even bat an eye, huh?” 

The human frowned at Sans. He shrugged and walked off after Papyrus. 

The human stood up, patted the snow off their shorts and legs, and walked forwards. 

Nearby, the human found another station. They giggled slightly at the narration on it, before moving on. 

The third sentry station they passed was occupied. As the human passed it, a dog slowly rose up from within it. The human froze, staring at the dog with wide eyes. 

“Did something move? Was it my imagination?” the dog growled. “I can only see moving things…” The dog paused, looking unnerved. “H-hey! I can’t stop shivering all of the sudden… Who… who’s there!?” 

Doggo blocks the way! 

The human stumbled backwards in surprise, and Doggo pounced, summoning light blue swords. The human was incapable of avoiding them, and yelled when one cut through their side. There were no physical injuries, but their side hurt like a sword really had just hit them. 

They swung their stick at Doggo, only to cry out in pain again when another sword hit them. Another strike from the human, and the black faded back into the world as dust dispersed everywhere. The human coughed. They were certain they had accidentally inhaled some dust. 

The human clutched at their side, and continued walking forwards. They skirted around what looked like dog treats someone had been smoking. 

They winced upon seeing ice that they had to skate across. They had tried ice skating before, and were notoriously bad at staying upright. 

With use of their stick, they managed to stay upright on the ice and not fall over. Though their side still really hurt. 

As they walked into the next clearing, they saw Papyrus and Sans yet again. 

“YOU’RE SO LAZY!!” Papyrus yelled. “YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT!!” 

“”i think that’s called sleeping,” Sans pointed out. 

The human nodded to show that they agreed with this statement. 

Papyrus tsked. “EXCUSES, EXCUSES!” 

The brothers turned to see the human. The human waved again. Papyrus eagerly waved back this time. “OH-HO! THE HUMAN ARRIVES!” he greeted. “IN ORDER TO STOP YOU… MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES!” 

The human tilted their head, curiously. They remembered when Toriel told them about puzzles in the Rui-- 

No. 

They did not want to think about Toriel right now. 

“I THINK YOU WILL FIND THIS ONE… QUITE SHOCKING!” Papyrus spoke. 

Sans grinned at Papyrus. 

The human frowned. 

“FOR YOU SEE, THIS IS THE INVISIBLE MAZE OF ELECTRI--” 

The human immediately began to go _around_ the area where they thought the so-called invisible maze was. Their side still hurt, they were not particularly interested in being in more pain. 

Papyrus stared blankly at the human. Sans’ lower face was frozen in his usual lazy grin, but the human could tell he was staring at them. 

The human stopped as they walked around the maze. They were uncomfortable with this attention. 

Finally Papyrus spoke. “UHHHHHHHHHH…? HMMM… YOU MUST BE HAVING CULTURE SHOCK?” 

The human gave an awkward laugh, trying to lighten the mood. 

Papyrus launched into an explanation. “YOU SEE, WHERE I COME FROM, IT’S A LOVING TRADITION TO SUFFER THROUGH HORRIBLE PUZZLES FOR NO REASON!” 

The human experienced a sudden sinking feeling. They started trying to walk faster. Maybe they could get past Papyrus and Sans before either noticed, and avoid painful, torturous puzzles. 

“SO UH, JUST WALK BACK THERE AND…” Papyrus noticed the advancing human Papyrus let out a long suffering sigh. “WHY COULDN’T WE GET A HUMAN THAT LIKE PUZZLES?” 

The human attempted to tug at Papyrus’ scarf to get his attention, and then smile reassuringly while telling him that they did like puzzles. Just not the ones that involve physical pain. 

Papyrus looked extremely confused at the human. “BUT THOSE ARE THE BEST KINDS OF PUZZLES? WHERE’S THE FUN WITHOUT THE RISK OF DANGER? THE RUSH OF ADRENALINE? NYEH HEH!” He turned around and swiftly walked away. 

The human turned to Sans, giving him a pleading look. 

“it would make my brother happy if you played along,” he informed them. 

The human huffed in response, and walked after Papyrus. 

In the next area, they felt frustrated. They didn’t really get why most monsters wanted to fight, attack, kill, or give pain to humans. 

_Toriel didn’t._

_You pushed her into that fight._

_She kept warning you._

The human put their hands over their ears, and sat down. Their side hurt, and they really needed to rest. 

_I don’t want to think about that! Flowey was in the Ruins, I had to get away from him!_

_But Toriel could scare off Flowey, you would be way safer with her, back in the Ruins. Why don’t you return to her?_

_Oh, RIGHT._

The human shook their head violently, until they felt dizzy. 

They got up, brushed the snow off, and continued walking until they saw Papyrus and Sans again. They decided to try to play along this time… 

...So long as electricity, swinging blades, flaming arrows, or the like were not involved. 

“HUMAN!!” Papyrus proclaimed. “I HOPE YOU’RE READY FOR…” 

There was an awkward pause. 

“SANS!!! WHERE’S THE PUZZLE?” Papyrus asked. 

Sans nodded at a small piece of paper, lying on the snowy ground. “it’s right there. on the ground. trust me. there’s no way that they’ll skip this one.” 

The human looked down at the paper, picking it up. The snow had gotten it kind of wet. It seemed to be a wordsearch of some sort. 

...The human didn’t actually have a pencil, so they didn’t really have a way to complete it. 

They placed it back down on the ground, and walked towards Sans and Papyrus, wondering if one of them had a pencil or something. Papyrus probably not, since his armor didn’t look like it had pockets. 

Papyrus looked flabbergasted. 

“WHAT THE HECK!!! THEY DIDN’T SKIP IT!?!?” he gasped. 

Sans shrugged, winking. “i’m tellin’ ya. everyone likes word searches.” 

“OH MY GOD!!!” Papyrus huffed. “I CAN’T WORK IN THIS ENVIRONMENT!!!” Cue Papyrus running off again.

The human started walking after him again. They stopped when they saw an… odd setup. 

There were two tables, one with a frozen plate of spaghetti, and one with a microwave. On the ground was a note, slightly damp from lying on snow. The human sat down and read it. 

_’HUMAN! PLEASE ENJOY THIS SPAGHETTI. (LITTLE DO YOU KNOW, THIS SPAGHETTI IS A TRAP… DESIGNED TO ENTICE YOU!!! YOU’LL BE SO BUSY EATING IT… THAT YOU WON’T REALIZE YOU AREN’T PROGRESSING!! THOROUGHLY JAPED AGAIN BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS!!!_

 _NYEH HEH HEH,  
PAPYRUS’_

The human was fairly certain that Papyrus’ handwriting strongly resembled a font they had seen somewhere. 

The human thought, as far as traps go, there are far, far worse and more painful. What harm could eating some spaghetti do? 

...Unless it was poisoned. To make the human really sleepy so they couldn’t fight back while being sleepy. 

They _were_ hungry, though… 

They took a closer look at the spaghetti. They poked it. 

...It was frozen solid. 

The human took a closer look at the microwave. 

...It wasn’t even turned on. Or plugged in. 

The human sighed in defeat, before moving on. 

In the next area, they found multiple things. A switch, held down with… vines? Huh? 

They tried advancing through the area, steering clear of the cliffs visible. When something began… approaching them. 

Two dogs. Both in black hooded uniforms and carrying axes. 

Before the human knew what was happening, the dogs were on either side of them. 

One spoke in a loud, barking sort of voice while the other had a whispery, growling sort of voice. 

“What’s that smell?” the first barked. 

“Where’s that smell?” the second growled. 

“If you’re a smell…” 

“...Identify yoursmellf!” 

The dogs pounced… but away from the human. The human lifted their stick, trembling slightly. They inhaled and exhaled unsteadily, their breath forming clouds in the frigid air. 

The dogs leaped back towards the human. The human kept turning, trying to keep an eye on both at once but only succeeding in making themselves dizzy. 

“Here’s that weird smell… It makes me want to eliminate...” 

“...Eliminate YOU!” 

_Nonononono--_

The dogs pounced at the human, and the moment that they entered a FIGHT the human swiped their stick straight through one of the dogs. It scattered into dust. 

The other stared in shock, then snarled, its growl turning ferocious. “I’ll chop you in half!” It raised its axe high. The human raised the arm wielding their stick, instinctively trying to shield themself. 

The axe seemed to be even bigger than it had been when the dog monster was wielding it. The axe collided with the human’s arm, and the human fell backwards with a pained shriek. The dog pounced forwards again as the human transferred the stick to their other hand, and stabbed the monster. The monster looked shocked for a moment, before scattering to dust. 

The world faded back into focus around the human. They just layed in the snow, not wanting to move. Their leg where Toriel’s fireball had hit them a few hours ago tingled in an uncomfortable way. Their side where the first dog they had seen had hit them with that sword was really aching, and their arm that had been hit by this dog’s axe was completely numb. They sneezed dust out of their nose, not caring enough to get it out of their hair or off their sweater. 

The snow was really cold. _They_ were getting really cold. They knew they should get up, keep moving, keep warm. But their sweater was cold and wet now. And they couldn’t work up the energy to keep moving. 

It was snow cold… 

The human giggled, somewhat deliriously. That was funny. 

Their side had been hurting, but the numbing cold of the snow made it stop… 

They just wanted to sleep off the hurt. Maybe when they woke up the snow would make it feel better… 

The last thing they noticed before falling asleep were the crystals studding the cavern’s ceiling. The floodlights on the ceiling hid them, outshone, but they were still there. Still barely noticeable. 

Maybe the human could make a wish that they’d get out of here. And it would come true. 

They made a wish… 

...


	13. Inner 2.2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each arc shows a particular something about each Run.   
> Ruins was basically introducing each run. Inner, Pacifist, and Genocide.   
> Snowdin showed flashes of what each protagonist had been like previously. Inner Runner, Asriel, Paci Runner, and Geno Runner.   
> Waterfall highlights the character development each protagonist is getting.   
> Hotland is about the future.   
> New Home is what each protagonist thinks of the Underground now...   
> And Judgement Hall and thereafter is where we discover what happened to make the Inner Timeline so messed up, why the Paci Runner is doing a Pacifist Run, and how Frisk and Chara react to meeting each other. And what, exactly, makes Triad Frisk and Triad Chara different from other fics and comics I've seen...

**Triad  
Arc 2: Snowdin   
Part 2 **   
_Inner_

 

Asriel pulled the human into the first building they came across: an abandoned store, and shoved them under the counter before he jumped down after them. They stayed like that for at least ten minutes, simply catching their breaths. Neither of them knew what was going on, but being around S͕̣͇̦͓a͊̏̎͗̚̚ͅṋ̳̺̻̥ͪ͋̆̈͝s̵ͪ͆ and P͓̙̺͙̲̹̬a̮͈̖͂ͩp̛͓̱͓̭͓̾͊̾̒̚̚y̗͚͙͚͎͙̮̑͂ͣ̉̄r̵͚͈̬̺ͧ̽uͦͣ͆̉҉̞̰s̫̜̣͎̫̬ͪ̉̒̏̊̀ͫ͢ didn’t exactly appeal to either at the moment. 

 

The human was uncomfortable under this counter, too… It gave them a familiar feeling. Panic. That feeling of being chased and not wanting to be found… 

 

Not because they feared what the chaser would do to them but, curiously enough, what they might do to the chaser… 

 

They felt their stomach shift and moved into the fetal position. 

 

More time passed, and Asriel slowly peeked over the counter, and then out the door. 

 

No one was near. 

 

Asriel stepped back into the shop, looking around. “I thought someone was supposed to be here…” he muttered, eyebrows furrowing. He noticed that the human was still under the counter. “...Chara? You can come out now. I don’t think either of them are coming.” 

 

The human didn’t budge. 

 

“Chara?” 

 

Asriel ducked back under the counter again, frowning in concern. “Are… are you okay?” 

 

The human shook their head. 

 

“...Do you want to talk about it?” 

 

It all felt wrong. 

 

“...It _is_ all wrong…” Asriel looked askance. “...It’s not supposed to end up like this…” 

 

They knew. 

 

But… it still felt better than before. 

 

“Really? I…” Asriel blinked. “...Wait, what are we talking about? What… Chara were you getting those weird familiar feelings too?” 

 

They were. 

 

“They’re… Uncomfortable. It feels like… Like I shouldn’t be…” Asriel stared at his paws for a moment, then grinned sheepishly at the human. “...Th-they’re just weird feelings, right? Just… We shouldn’t pay attention to them. We should focus on SAVING everyone.” 

 

Right. 

 

“Let’s save P̶͎̬̻̰̯ͧ́ͤa͖̤͚̗ͤ̎ͮͭ͊̄p̪̯͂̀̅̒y͍̳̖̼̥̼͙r͆̔҉̯͖̞̬̳ū̙̆ͥ̎̔ͧͮ́s̭͍̓ͣͯ first. I think…” Asriel shuffled his paws. “...He seems really lazy and laid-back but… I don’t think that fighting S̴͔͙̗̠̯ͥ͊ͭ̅̔ͥͅa̝̭̜ǹ̴̰̥͛ͅs̜͓̣̱̺̖͗̂̋͆͛ͣ͋͘ is a good ide--” 

 

YES. The human could not agree more. 

 

Asriel smiled, relieved. “Great! Let’s, uh, fight him later. When we’re used to Saving more.” 

 

The human nodded. 

 

Asriel sat down on the floor, chin tilted up and ears flopping back as he scrunched up his nose, deep in thought. “So, if we want to fight P̈́̄̓̾͂͛̚҉͚̜ą̍p̮̰̱̼̺͋͒ͭy̫̪̖̥͂̒͊̈ͧ̍̓́r̶͎̲̭̣̲ͮ̈́͂u̩̙̥̯̽̄ͅs̼̠̣ͩ̐̋̀ first, we’re going to have to find him… And find a way to defeat him, without winning? Like we did with Mom. Uh… I think we should try reminding him of things like before.” 

 

The human told Asriel that they’d do the dodging and deflecting again. They tapped their trusty stick on the ground. 

 

Asriel smiled. “Great!” He glanced around the shop. “And uh… As for where he is…” 

 

Both the Boss monster and the human wondered out loud if P̩̝̩̤͋̇̎̋͝â̲̓ͥ͆̀͐̈p̨͈̹̦͖̝̬̍̀yͣ͌ͮ͐̒ͧr̖̱̮̮̹͛̀ͬͭu̪͉̜̱͈̥͉͋̃̈͛͞s̶̲̞̞̻̣͍̜̒̓̒͋ͪͣ would be on the edge of town, at the same time. 

 

Each blinked. 

 

“...Well, Chara. Great minds think alike,” Asriel pointed out, smiling. 

 

The human could tell that he was getting unnerved. 

 

They told Asriel that they had bad feelings about a lot of things in the Underground. But they didn’t have anything but good feelings for him. They trusted him. Asriel made them feel… safe. 

 

Asriel felt like someone with a good Soul. 

 

Asriel’s smile became genuine. “...Thank you.” 

 

The two walked out of the snow, and through the abandoned town. 

 

Mist slowly set in as they continued past the town… 

 

And then they saw a familiar silhouette in the mist… 

 

P͕̠͓͉̞̽̚a͓̼̫̫͖͋ͥ̈̉̉̌p̯̜ͩ͘y̯̲̙͚̟̙͋r͖̼̩̂̂̎̀ͮͫͧų̹̝̲̲̹̰̚s͈̣̫̯ͮͩ̓̓ blocks the way! 

 

 

The human glanced sidelong at Asriel. The young monster was shaking slightly… but standing firm. 

 

“I͠ ̡M͟U̸̶S͏̵T ͟CA͏҉P̨TU̴Ŕ̨͢È͢ ̢A̡̢͞ ̷H͢͝Ų͞M͢A̴N͞!” 

 

The human dashed in front of Asriel as their stick began to glow red, and immediately began slashing at the array of magical bones hurtling towards the two kids. 

 

When it was done they smiled at Asriel, giving him an encouraging thumbs up. 

 

Asriel didn’t look directly at them, but smiled back before he stepped forwards. 

 

“P̛͙̞̞͇͙̯͋͗͑ͤ͗̐a͌͗҉̘̣͉̻̼p̳ͯ̓̐͟y̸̞̪̑̓̀̓ͅr҉u̮̞͑̄̀ͬ̊̑̀sͥ̿ͯ͊, since you cook a lot with a frying pan, does that make you a…” Asriel grinned and winked. “Skillet-ton?” 

 

The human bonked themselves on the forehead with their stick when they heard that. 

 

P͕̥̣͙͇̆ͤ͒͒ͤ̔̾͜a̝̪̮̬͕̲͓ͬ͋ͬͩp̉͑̀͝y̲͙̱͚̙͍rͪ̊̃ͦ̄҉ũ̬̟̖̗̈̕s̼̭̝̬̞̹̙ͬ̎̂̔ͭ͒̓́ was seemingly unfazed. He raised a gloved hand, sending more bones towards Asriel and the human. The human continued swinging their stick. 

 

“T͝H́͟͝È͞N̵ ͡E̶V͘͠E̕͠R̶Y̴O̷̵͟N͞E ̴͟WÍ͠LĻ̶.́͡..̀͞͡” 

 

“There’s this really hard puzzle that we really needed help with, can you please help us?” Asriel asked. 

 

P̥̟̲̝̈́̂̌̀a̢̓͒͑ͦ̓̾͌p̡̫̱̮̭͕̰̬̍͆̿ͯ͐̍̂y̶̳̫̺̒ȓ͇̥̹̓̀͌͋̚ù̻͎̪̳͚̭̹͆͢ş͎̖ seemed conflicted. He hesitated before sending out another wave of bones that the human easily kept from Asriel. 

 

“.͟.̧͜.͢” 

 

“...Your spaghetti is very… ingenuitive! Do you think you can make some for us?” Asriel asked. 

 

P̷̠̪͚̹̞ͥ̌̋̽̓͒ͭå̺̖̙̪̝̊̾̃͊̚p̧̖̙̔̾ͦy͙̰͍͇̖ͣ̽̚̚rͣͨ̇̿̎̅͊͝u͌̆̏҉̤̭s̥͂̆̅ͪ̓̀ fidgeted in a happy and excited manner. 

 

T̕͝hè͝͏ ̶̷͜me͜͡m̵͝o̵ries came flooding back! 

 

Papyrus slapped his hands to his cheekbones and gasped dramatically. “NO! WAIT!! YOU’RE MY FRIEND! I COULD NEVER CAPTURE YOU!” 

 

Asriel beamed, and the human felt themselves smiling too. 

 

Papyrus blinked a few times. “WHOAH, WHOAH, WHAT JUST HAPPENED? MY HEAD GOT ALL FUZZY!” 

 

The kids both shrugged. 

 

Papyrus frowned, a rare expression on him, and then brightened up. “OH! HUMAN! I REMEMBER YOU!” 

 

He did? 

 

“YES! YOU WERE FLIRTING WITH ME!” 

 

You were? 

 

“FEAR NOT, HUMAN! THERE IS NO NEED TO BE BASHFUL! THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO SHAME IN HAVING A CRUSH ON SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME! YOU ARE IN GOOD COMPANY!” Papyrus paused. “...VERY SHY COMPANY, WHICH HAS NEVER INFORMED ME, BUT GOOD COMPANY NONETHELESS!” 

 

The human nodded, despite confused by all of this. 

 

“I INVITED YOU ON A DATE, DIDN’T I? AND… YOU NEVER… SHOWED UP?” 

 

The human frowned, and gave Asriel a puzzled look. He blinked at them, seemingly just as puzzled. 

 

...For a moment they felt like they wanted to take up Papyrus’ offer, even if they didn’t remember flirting or him asking them on a date. 

 

But then they shook their head. They told Papyrus it must’ve been another human. After all, humans look way more similar compared to monsters, right? It was hard to tell them apart. 

 

Papyrus nodded. “OOOOH! THAT EXPLAINS A LOT! NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT YOU TWO ACT VERY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT I’VE SEEN?? THAT OTHER HUMAN WAS KIND OF RUDE, TOO! WALKING OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF WHILE I WAS TALKING ALL THE TIME!” 

 

The human nodded. 

 

They liked Papyrus. Quite a bit. 

 

But being near him brought up guilt. And the feeling that they really shouldn’t be near him. 

 

They grabbed Asriel’s hand. 

 

Asriel shifted slightly on his feet. “Um… Papyrus?” 

 

“YES, MINI-ASGORE-CLONE?” Papyrus asked, 

 

“We have to go… sorry, but we need to check on the others…” Asriel said. 

 

Papyrus nodded vigorously. “THIS IS TRUE! LIKE Ǔ̶̿N̿͞D̖̙̻̭͔̉̾̈̾̆̾̑Y͍̬̰͇̮̞̪̒̃N̴͎̝͓̱̄ͮ͊Ë͚̖̯́̿̄! IF SHE GOT THAT WEIRD FUZZY FOGGY FEELING AND STARTED COOKING, THE FIRE AT HER HOUSE MIGHT GET MORE OUT OF CONTROL THAN USUAL, SINCE THE FUZZY FOGGY WOULD DISTRACT HER FROM NOTICING IN TIME!!” 

 

“...Right. Well, bye!” Asriel said, waving. 

 

They nodded, and waved. 

 

“GOODBYE TINY NICER HUMAN! GOODBYE MINI-ASGORE-CLONE!” 

 

Together, they exited Snowdin and entered the caves of…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...Also there will be a sequel. Definitely. It will be called Myriad. It will be Post Pacifist.  >:3


	14. Pacifist 2.2

**Triad  
Arc 2: Snowdin   
Part 2 **   
_Pacifist_

 

Snowdin was a very apt name for the town. 

 

The human was not surprised. 

 

There were quite a few monsters around the town. Most strongly resembled fluffy animals, the most common seemed to be rabbits. 

 

The human walked into a nearby shop, intending to purchase something to restore their health should they need it… but immediately shuddered as they entered, phantom pains ghosting across certain parts of their body. 

 

They tightly clutched the fabric of their sweater, right over their chest, and walked forwards. They asked the shopkeeper if they had any chocolate. 

 

The rabbit shopkeeper blinked at them. “I’m sorry. I don’t have any chocolate. Would you perhaps like a cinnamon bunny?” 

 

The human explained that they had just had a kind of long and stressful day and demand chocolate. 

 

“I’m sorry to hear that. We don’t have any.” 

 

The human huffed, turned on their heels, and prepared to stomp out the door… Only to remember that they would probably need food to recover their HP. Even if, sadly, it was not chocolate. 

 

The spun back around on their heels to face the shopkeeper, and asked the rabbit for a cinnamon bunny. 

 

Once they had purchased several, they considered what would come next. 

 

They had to fight that skeleton. He was determined to capture the human and send them to New Home. While the human would appreciate the ride, they doubted that they would end it corporeally. So, that was not an option. They needed to defeat that skeleton, mercifully, like they had done with Toriel… 

 

Though, with Toriel they had lucked out. While trying to think of a tactic, it had turned out that waiting was the very tactic they had needed. The same tactic would probably not work twice. 

 

They thought for a few moments. Perhaps stoking that skeletons’ ego might work? 

 

The human stood up. They didn’t particularly like those two skeletons. 

 

They reminded them of him… 

 

...Then again, he was why they were doing this. 

 

They trudged through the snow until a heavy, swirling mist set in. Mist that penetrated one’s flesh and chilled one’s blood and bones. It crept up through your mouth and nostrils, slid down your throat, and drowned your lungs in moistness. Mist that blanketed your eyes and ears with suffocating whiteness and silence. 

 

And then suddenly, a silhouette in the mist appeared. That skeleton. 

 

“HUMAN.” 

 

“ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS. FEELINGS LIKE… THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER. THE ADMIRATION OF ANOTHER’S PUZZLE-SOLVING SKILLS. THE DESIRE TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK YOU ARE COOL. THESE FEELINGS...” 

 

The skeleton paused. 

 

“THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW!!!” 

 

The human tilted their head at the skeleton. 

 

“I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO FEEL THAT WAY! AFTER ALL, I AM VERY GREAT. I DON’T EVER WONDER WHAT HAVING LOTS OF FRIENDS IS LIKE. I PITY YOU… LONELY HUMAN…” 

 

The human stared at him blankly. 

 

“WORRY NOT! YOU SHALL BE LONELY NO LONGER!” 

 

The human became mildly concerned. 

 

“I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL BE YOUR…” 

 

The skeleton paused once again, starting to look mildly concerned himself. 

 

“NO… NO, THIS IS ALL WRONG! I CAN’T BE YOUR FRIEND!!! YOU ARE A HUMAN!” 

 

The human in question was now very confused by these statements. 

 

The skeleton was apparently not like him after all. 

 

“I MUST CAPTURE YOU!!! THEN, I CAN FULFILL MY LIFELONG DREAM!!! POWERFUL! POPULAR! PRESTIGIOUS!!! THAT’S P--!!” 

 

Most would find it difficult to zone out while being screamed at by a gangly skeleton intent on capturing you, but zoning out was rapidly becoming second nature for the human. They only came back to their senses after the pure white of the mist transitioned to the black void of a FIGHT. 

 

The human puzzled over how one would go about complimenting this skeleton. Then they shrugged and informed him that he was very… obstreperous. 

 

“WHAT!? FL-FLIRTING!?” 

 

The human didn’t see what, about that, qualified as ‘flirting’, but they decided to indulge their curiosity and see where this would go anyways. 

 

“SO YOU FINALLY REVEAL YOUR ULTIMATE FEELINGS!? W-WELL! I’M A SKELETON WITH VERY HIGH STANDARDS!!!” 

 

The human informed the skeleton that they could make better spaghetti than him. 

 

“OH NO!!! YOU’RE EXCEEDING ALL MY STANDARDS!!! I GUESS THIS MEANS I HAVE TO GO ON A DATE WITH YOU…?” 

 

The human assured the skeleton that they were probably not worth his time. 

 

“THAT MODESTY…!” 

 

The human sighed. 

 

Papyrus looked conflicted. “L-L-LET’S DATE LATER!” 

 

The skeleton let out a few waves of bones that were disappointingly easy to dodge. The human simply waited, watching for what would happen next. 

 

“SO YOU WON’T FIGHT… THEN LET’S SEE HOW YOU HANDLE MY FABLED ‘BLUE ATTACK!!” 

 

By this point, the human was sitting cross-legged on the ground, looking somewhat bored as light blue bones phased through them. 

 

And then something unexpected happened. They fell forwards onto the snow, their previously dull red Soul now ringed by blue and dragging them downwards. Their chest felt constricted, and they couldn’t breathe. There was a voice ringing in their ears, one that they recognized but was completely unfamiliar to them. 

 

‘ _that look on your face..._

_**Y o u r e a l l y a r e a f r e a k .**_ ’ 

 

It was uncomfortable and they hated it. 

 

Like lead weights were in their body, but not quite physically, like chains constricting their chest that they couldn’t quite feel, like an itch that you just cannot get to. 

 

The human realized that the tall skeleton was above them. 

 

“HUMAN! ARE YOU ALR--” 

 

The human told the tall skeleton that they must be dying. 

 

“WH-WHAT?? OH, NO, HUMAN JUST LET ME CAPTURE YOU AND I’LL HEL--” 

 

Because there was a hot angel standing over them. 

 

The human grinned at the expression Papyrus made. 

 

He was gobsmacked. 

 

“H-HUMAN PLEASE DO NOT JOKE ABOUT SUCH MATTERS!” he stressed. 

 

The human shrugged, the grin sliding off their face. 

 

“ARE YOU CERTAIN YOU ARE OKAY, HUMAN? WE CAN CEASE THE BATTLE NOW IF YOU ARE INCAPABLE OF CONTINUI--” 

 

The human informed the skeleton that they wanted to finish the fight. 

 

And it was more difficult to dance and dodge with their now-blue Soul weighing them down… but they still managed to accomplish it. 

 

They took on this new challenge in stride, knowing it would just make their victory all the more sweet. 

 

They were almost enjoying themselves. 

 

And they were almost disappointed when that dog stole that skeleton’s special attack. But they did feel proud when they managed to escape his ‘absolutely normal attack’ completely unscathed. 

 

The taller skeleton grinned at them. “WELL!” He gasped, despite having no lungs that the human knew of. “IT’S CLEAR… YOU CAN’T! DEFEAT ME!!!” 

 

The human gave the skeleton a look. 

 

“YEAH!!! I CAN SEE YOU SHAKING IN YOUR BOOTS!” 

 

The human assured the skeleton that they were only shaking because it was snowing. 

 

The skeleton stopped panting, and straightened up giving them a huge grin. “THEREFORE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE ELECTED TO GRANT YOU PITY! I WILL SPARE YOU, HUMAN!!! NOW’S YOUR CHANCE TO ACCEPT MY MERCY!” 

 

The human crossed their arms, and waited. 

 

The blue on their Soul shattered, revealing the dull red glow beneath once more. 

 

The world faded back in. 

 

The human began walking forwards. 

 

“I CAN’T EVEN STOP SOMEONE AS WEAK AS…?” The skeleton noticed the human leaving. “HUMAN? WHERE ARE YOU GOING? I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO GO ON A DA--?” 

 

The human did not hear or pay attention to the skeleton. 

 

They had… liked him. Kind of. 

 

But the skeleton brothers made them very uncomfortable. 

 

So they left Snowdin behind, and stepped into the tunnels of…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No date for you. Paci-Runner cares not for romance.   
> You know what's coming up next, don't you...?


	15. Genocide 2.2

**Triad  
Arc 2: Snowdin   
Part 2**   
_Genocide_

 

The human awoke, mouth parched, muscles stiff and cold. They slowly pushed themselves off the ground with their hands, and leaned back against a wooden wall before massaging the aching sensation out of their arms. They glanced around the area they had woken up in.

 

They were inside of a small shed, sitting on a straw bed. There were two bowls full of something near them. The human put their hands in them. One was water, the other was hard and dry. Pellets of some kind. They took a pellet out. Dog food?

 

The human glanced about for their stick, and found it near them on the straw bed. They grabbed it, squeezing it as tightly as possible in their small hands.

 

They continued looking about the shed. There seemed to be boxes full of puzzles surrounding them. Cardboard boxes of jigsaws, stacks of crosswords and word-searches and connect-the-dots(and a pencil!). All sorts of puzzles…

 

None seemed particularly life-threatening, as far as the human could tell.

 

The human’s gaze shifted to the door. They could tell even from here that it wasn’t locked.

 

Maybe they could get out. Run away and never look back.

 

The human… actually liked Papyrus.

 

He was kind of eccentric. But he did honestly seem to mean well. The human thought they had passed out… Maybe while they were passed out, Papyrus had found them and… This was where he brought ‘captured’ humans?

 

...This wasn’t so bad. A lot worse could have happened to them.

 

Maybe they could just hide away in here. In this shed. And be just fine. Papyrus had said something about suffering through torturous puzzles… But maybe now that that was over and they could be… friends?

 

The human tried not to think about the last time they had stayed with a monster.

 

And Sans… seemed pretty scary. They remembered his parting words the first time they had met. About them pretending to be a human for a little while longer.

 

The human let go of their stick and stared at their hands. They clenched their fingers into fists, then relaxed them, staring intently at their palms.

 

If they weren’t a human, what were they? Were there monsters that looked like humans but weren’t?

 

The human clutched their head. This was confusing them.

 

_A normal human wouldn’t kill someone who wanted to help you._

_...I didn’t know… I didn’t think…_

_You never do._

 

The human curled into a ball.

 

They were awoken from their reverie by the sound of knocking on the door.

 

“HUMAN! HAVE YOU AWOKEN YET?”

 

The human didn’t move, nor did they speak. Maybe if they were silent, Papyrus would go away…

 

After a few tense minutes, they heard Papyrus’ boots crunching away through the snow. The human let out a pent up breath.

 

They had made a decision.

 

They’d done some pretty bad things. They knew that. They were very sure that the dust monsters had kept turning into was not a sign of a healthy, happy monster. And Papyrus… seemed different from the ones that kept attacking them? Like Toriel.

 

Sure. Papyrus had captured them. But he could have done a lot worse to them. He could have killed or hurt them, or if he couldn’t do it himself he could have handed them to someone who could.

 

The human got up, and hissed in pain. Their side, leg, and arm still hurt, though the pain had lessened considerably. They still managed to get around, though, using their stick as a crutch.

 

With their good arm and leg, the human carried and kicked as much of the puzzle piles as they could, stacking it all in front of the door.

 

With their barricade complete, the human sat back down on the straw bed.

 

They were not giving themselves any more chances. They were not letting themselves out of this shed no matter what.

 

They curled up on the straw bed, turning away from the metal bowls, trying to get to sleep again.

 

…

 

” _Heehee…”_

_“And you know what the best part is?”_

_“ **It’s all your fault.**_ ”

 

“Howdy!”

 

The human bolted upright, their head whipping left and right in search of that voice. They desperately hoped it had simply been a bad dream.

 

But no. There he was, staring the human, a flat smile plastered over his simple black and white face.

 

The human teared up.

 

They were so confused. How had he known where to find them? Why was he _here?_ Didn’t he live in the Ruins? They’d left the Ruins, left through the door and hadn’t looked ba--

 

_The door!_

 

They’d been so out of it after leaving the Ruins, that they had completely forgotten to close the door! Flowey could have easily exited the Ruins. And… and followed them…

 

The human hugged their knees. They felt far, far less safe knowing Flowey could so easily stalk them without them noticing. At least with Sans, they had known _something_ was following them…

 

...Or had Sans been letting them know on purpose? Trying to terrify them? He _had_ made that really big crack.

 

Maybe the human was not as good at noticing others following them as they thought they were?

 

They really didn’t like that idea…

 

“Chara, what are you doing?”

 

The human tried not to look at Flowey. They felt something tap their back, and shuddered. They dug their fingernails into their palms and squeezed their eyes shut as tightly as possible.

 

“Why are you still in here? I know the only reason that smiley trashbag’s brother caught you is because you passed out. But you’ve been staying in here for hours. You could’ve _easily_ escaped by now.”

 

The human stayed curled up. Stayed shivering.

 

“ _What are you waiting for, Chara?_ ”

 

The human yelped as there were multiple loud cracking noises. They looked up, tears streaking down their cheeks.

 

The doors had been blown off its hinges by something.

 

Flowey’s vine curled across the human’s shoulders.

 

“Or did you want to delay fighting that smiley trashbag’s brother a little while longer? That I can understand… He _is_ my favorite toy, after all. But Chara… I’m here. And a friend is so much better than a silly toy, right? Now go on!”

 

Flowey ducked back around, and the human didn’t move, staring in shock at the door.

 

It didn’t take long for Papyrus to run over to the shed.

 

“WOWIE, HUMAN! HOW’D THE DOOR GET BLOWN OFF!?” he asked, staring wide-eyed at the splintered wood.

 

The human didn’t respond for a few moments.

 

There is no safe place from Flowey.

 

Then they shook their head, grabbed their stick, rubbed their eyes with the sleeve of their sweater, and looked at Papyrus. They told him, in a low voice, that a flower did it.

 

They weren’t expecting him to believe them.

 

Papyrus’ face lit up.

 

“OH! MY FRIEND FLOWEY! BUT… WHY WOULD HE BLOW THE DOOR OPEN?”

 

Impossible.

 

_Nowhere was safe from Flowey._

 

The human immediately scooted away from Papyrus.

 

Papyrus didn’t seem to notice.

 

“WAIT. YOU MET FLOWEY? HE SAYS HE’S MY BEST FRIEND, IF HE’S YOUR FRIEND TOO THEN WE’VE GOT STUFF IN COMMON ALREADY AND CAN BE EVEN BETTER FRIENDS!”

 

_No. No._

 

The human raised up their stick.

 

Papyrus frowned at them. “...HUMAN? WHAT’S WRONG?”

 

The human did not respond. Instead, they started trying to inch away from Papyrus.

 

They were very confused right now. Papyrus seemed like he was nice, and seemed like he didn’t want to hurt the human…

 

But he was also friends with Flowey.

 

And… and Flowey had said something about Papyrus being his favorite toy? What did that even mean?

 

There was some sort of ugly connection forming that the human could not quite grasp.

 

They needed to get away from here before they got hurt, or hurt Papyrus.

 

They tried to stand up, leaning on their stick.

 

If they wanted to move, they’d need to lean on their stick. But they wouldn’t be able to use their stick as a weapon if they did that.

 

Fight or flight.

 

They needed to decide.

 

“HUMAN? WH-WHAT’S THAT LOOK ON YOUR FACE?”

 

_Flight._

 

The human turned around, running as fast as they could go.

 

“WAIT, WHERE ARE YOU GOING!? PLEASE COME BACK!”

 

The human could hear Papyrus’ boots crunching on the ground.

 

They ducked into what looked like an igloo, expecting to find a small space to hide until Papyrus went away. Until they could calm down. They could puzzle out how to deal with this situation.

 

Instead they found a tunnel. They didn’t question where it went, they just raced down into its darkness. Until they suddenly fell to their knees, thoroughly winded.

 

Their side and leg ached. And now their stomach was growling. They hadn’t eaten since the pie Toriel gave them.

 

...They were in a town though, right? Maybe, in a little while, they could find somewhere with food? Monsters had to eat too, right? They knew how to cook. So they had to cook because they had to eat, right?

 

The human wasn’t sure how long they crouched in the darkness of the tunnel. It felt like hours to them. Finally they emerged from the tunnel, blinking.

 

They looked about for anyone.

 

Dead silence. Not a soul in sight.

 

What _was_ in sight, though, was a shop of some kind. The human made a beeline for it.

 

It was rather cozy inside the shop. A warm yellow light seemed to bathe the interior, and the human felt more at ease just by being in there.

 

They found a note on the counter. ‘ _Please don’t hurt my family._ ’

 

They frowned, and felt something twist uncomfortably inside them.

 

They didn’t know what to think.

 

Then their gaze fell on a pile of cinnamon bunnies, and they knew exactly what to think.

 

_Food!_

 

They tore into the pile, not caring a bit for manners. They would’ve been better piping hot, but even cold they still tasted amazing. The human ended up stuffing themselves, before crawling underneath the counter.

 

It was probably a good idea to spend the night here. No one would see them if they came in, and they could wait a couple more hours to make sure Papyrus was not still in the town.

 

Then, hopefully they could leave without needing to fight anyone.

 

They fell asleep down there, under the counter.

 

When they woke up, it was still quiet. Still, no one around.

 

Good.

 

The human travelled through the town as quickly as they possibly could. Their side, arm, and leg felt much better, and they were no longer hungry, although they did feel rather sore from sleeping on the floor again.

 

They missed the bed in the Ruins.

 

They were regretting a lot of things. They didn’t want to do anything else that they’d regret.

 

They continued walking, surrounded by an eery silence penetrated only by the muffled crunching of their footsteps in snow.

 

And then they were surrounded by mist, and even that was silenced.

 

They thought they saw a figure in front of them.

 

A tall--

 

_No._

_No no. I wanted to avoid this!_

 

Maybe they could go around him and in the mist he wouldn’t see them?

 

…

 

They couldn’t move.

 

Papyrus spoke up.

 

“HUMAN…”

 

The human couldn’t respond.

 

“I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE SOME THINGS TO SAY! FIRST… YOU’RE A BIT WEIRD! YOU DON’T SEEM TO GET THE IDEA OF PUZZLES, AND THE WAY YOU WALK IS PRETTY ODD WITH HOW SHUFFLEY IT IS… AND YOU’RE COVERED IN DUST ALL THE TIME FOR SOME REASON?”

 

The human let their head hang.

 

“IT FEELS… LIKE YOUR LIFE IS GOING DOWN A DANGEROUS PATH…”

 

The human continued to not respond.

 

“HOWEVER! I, PAPYRUS, SEE GREAT POTENTIAL WITHIN YOU!”

 

They frowned. This… confused them.

 

“EVERYONE CAN BE A GREAT PERSON IF THEY TRY! AND ME, I HARDLY HAVE TO TRY AT ALL!”

 

…

 

Papyrus let out a nervous laugh.

 

“HUMAN… I THINK YOU COULD GREATLY BENEFIT FROM SOME GUIDANCE FROM YOURS TRULY! I WILL GLADLY BE YOUR FRIEND AND TUTOR! I WILL TURN YOUR LIFE RIGHT AROUND!”

 

…

 

They just wanted to leave.

 

They shuffled forwards.

 

“I SEE YOU ARE APPROACHING!! ARE YOU OFFERING A HUG OF ACCEPTANCE? WOWIE! MY LESSONS ARE WORKING ALREADY!! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN ARMS!”

 

And then the colors of the world drained away.

 

The human’s breathing and heart rate accelerated, and they stumbled backwards.

 

They were so confused.

 

This… this was a FIGHT, right?

 

Papyrus wanted to be friends.

 

You don’t fight your friends. In a fight someone can get hurt, and you don’t hurt your friends.

 

So if Papyrus started a fight did that mean he didn’t want to be friends?

 

...Papyrus had a weird idea of puzzles. Maybe he had a weird idea of friends.

 

Maybe in the Underground, this was what friends did.

 

He said he was friends with Flowey. Flowey could definitely hurt people.

 

…

 

The human didn’t know what to do.

 

_Kill or be killed._

_Fight or flight._

 

They wanted, no, needed to get out of here. This place was getting worse and worse--

 

They couldn’t stay here a moment longer--

 

_F-- f--_

_FIGHT_

 

**42063**

 

…

 

…..

 

………!!!

 

“W-WELL… THAT’S NOT WHAT I EXPECTED…”

 

The human couldn’t look.

 

They had knocked Papyrus’ head clean off his body with their stick.

 

His head was _talking to them._

_This was a nightmare. There was no other explanation._

 

Their stomach churned unpleasantly.

 

“BUT…”

 

“ST-STILL! I BELIEVE IN YOU! YOU CAN DO A LITTLE BETTER! EVEN IF YOU DON’T THINK SO! I… I PROMISE…”

 

Of _course_ they could do ‘better’! _Anyone_ could do better!  
This was the absolute worst they could do. Rock bottom. The only other way they could _do_ was ‘better’.

 

They understood what Sans meant, now.

 

They weren’t a human.

 

They weren’t a monster.

 

Both would do way better than this…

 

So what were they?

 

They didn’t know… They didn’t want to know.

 

They ran. There was really no other way they could react to this. So they ran.

 

They ran, out of the snow and into…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...I was kinda dreading writing this chapter. First, I'd have to kill off Papyrus. Who is my favorite character. Second, because the Geno Runner, who at this point is still trying to avoid killing and would therefore need to be pressured to do so, would need to kill of Papyrus, the single character who is completely incapable of killing you, and doesn't even fight in Genocide.   
>  Then I remembered Papyrus is friends with Flowey, which caused things to click into place.   
> By the way, if the Geno Runner had a theme it would be Quicksand by David Bowie, and it would be playing softly in the background this entire chapter.


	16. 3.1 Inner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been over six months. Am I the queen of late updates yet?  
> Welp. Three chapters for you. And once I finish Nineteen, you'll get three more. The longest chapters I've written.  
> On a side note, Triad's now 211 pages long in Google Docs. When did this happen. 
> 
> Some things I didn't plan for actually happened in these Waterfall chapters, but they made sense. Hope you enjoy them, hope they were worth the wait...

**Triad  
** Arc 3: Waterfall  
Part 1  
_Inner_

Asriel and the human walked silently through the tunnels, until Asriel suddenly pushed the human against a wall. Though the human didn’t protest, they were still surprised and asked why he had done that. 

“I, uh…” Asriel thought a moment. “...I mentioned Ụ̬͓̗͚̗̈́͐̑͑̓n͍͎̫͙͉͇̽͒ͩ̂d͍̣̟̈͆ͩy̼͚͉n͚̏̐̀ͪ̓ͧͅe̯̬̲͂̌ͥ before, haven’t I?” 

Papyrus had mentioned someone by that name. 

Asriel nodded. “Yes. She’s the Captain of the Royal Guard.” 

The human furrowed their brow. This sounded familiar. She wouldn’t be after their Soul by any chance, would she? 

Asriel seemed to withdraw into himself a little. “...If Papyrus was trying to ‘capture’ you, I think the only reason he would do so is if U͍̩̞̳̪̘̜n͔̥̗̳̅d͚̝̝͙̦̙͛̆͂ͯ̈y͔͔̝ͩ̊ͭ̆͑͆n̰̹̳̦e̲̲̺̞̐̈́̃ͅ asked him. So…” Asriel clasped his hands together. “...She’s really strong. And, er… The most ‘hands-on’ Captain of the Royal Guard that I’ve seen! So she’ll probably be out and looking for you too…” He chuckled nervously. 

The human said in a level voice that it would be okay. They’re… Asriel’s the prince of the Underground. He can order her to stand down. They’d be fine. 

Their whitening knuckles betrayed them. 

The human suggested that maybe if they were fast and quiet they wouldn’t need to fight U̜̬̭̻̼̅ͤn͛̏ͧ̅d̻̐ͤ͆̐̈́̾̚y̺̞̖͉̖̝ͨ̽̄ͫn͎̝͋̎̎̄̉̓ͅě͓̱͓̩͖ͤ́̾ at all. 

Asriel tried to smile. “That’s a good point!” He looked around. “We should start going now.” 

They began hastily moving forwards, the human hoped that they would not have to run into any more monsters. Perhaps that would be the case, though-- the Underground seemed mostly empty, barring those Asriel seemed to be most knowledgeable about. Not very monsters to avoid, just Toriel, U͈̰ͣͤ̏͒͑̂ṉ͎̺̥̔ͮ̆͒̊ͅd̻̞̰̼̺̣̔͊͐͆ͭ͆̚y͗̔̏̍̓̓̚n͆e̜̳̙̰̠̯ͯͯ͌̾̎͋,͍̺͉̯͇̏̊͛͌̋̇ͅ ͔̦ͯ̋̇ͩ̇ͭ, Papyrus, S̹̩͚̝͍̟̪ͫȃ̯̫̺̱͉̺̊ͤͅṋ̣͎̹̦̃s̱̱͇̻̣ͨ͌-͈̠̮̭͓͖̻̇͊̊-̹̹̗ ̜͖̬̋̄̔͒̓ͮ

The human stopped, gripping at the fabric of Asriel’s sweater to make him stop as well, their eyes wide. 

Speak of the devil. S̱̲̺͍͍̏͆̇a̫̩̟̦̾̌̏̆ͅṋ̫̝̹͚̱̲s͉͖͖̼̪̘͒ was reclining back in a sentry station, skull tipped up to look at the ceiling of the caverns. It gave the kids a start-- they were certain they had outrun him, that he hadn’t passed them. So how had he gotten there before them? 

Asriel’s face screwed up slightly. “Sh… _shortcuts_ ” he muttered, his tone a mix between fearful and annoyed. “He has… He has these weird shortcuts. 

He looked like he was asleep. Perhaps if they were very quiet, they could sneak past him. 

Asriel nodded. “It’s worth a shot.” 

“i̵̛͏ aske̴̷d͝ ̸̴̢y̶̶o̵u ͘a ̢͞q͘͘u̢͘e̵͢s͞t͏i̴͘͡o̶̢n͠.̴͜͞ ̨͢” 

No such luck. 

“wh̨e̴͢͏ŗ̵͡e̶̸̛ ͏̶d̨̛o̷̴̕ ̛y͏ou th̡i͞n̶̸̛ķ̕͝ ͟y̵͠ǫ̛u͟'̧̢͝r͏̵e̢͟͞ ̛g̷ǫi̴n̶g?̴ ̷” 

Asriel whirled to face S̖̥͕ͯ̓ͮ̔̆̍ͅa̞͕͍̜̟͙͗ͫ̊͌̃ͪṇ̱̱̬̠̈́ͪs̞͚̹̩̪̾ͭ̄, fear evident in his bright red eyes. “N-new Home?” he said, startled into responding. “We just want to go visit my Dad’s house. We can do that.” 

The human tugged on Asriel’s sweater, voicing their concern about lingering around the skeleton. 

“y͜͜o̷̕u ç҉a̡̧͠n̡.̵ ş̵o̕m̛͘e̛҉ǫ̛͞nę͢'s̵ ̴̨̢s̕t̨҉i̧l̶͘l g͡͞o̡t̨̛̛ţ͟͞a̵҉ ̧҉ķ̶͘e̢͝e̶p͝ ̨ą̸n̢ ̡e͟y͠e͜҉ ̢͞o̷̶n̛ ̛y͜͡o̷u̷̢̧ a͏͡n̷͘d̨͞ ̴̴͘m҉ą̶k̴e̢͢ ͞s̸u̵͘͜re̵ ̷yơ̴u ͡do͟n̕͞'̸҉t͞ ҉̶c̴a̢us̶͢e ̢͝t͝͏r̶o̷̕͘u͜b̨̡l͞e.̶ ͝an̶͜d̢ ͠t҉̨̡h̷̢e̷ ͘r̴̴oy̶͝ą̵͏l̸ g̴̸͝u̷͡a͏͠r̷d̢͟'̧s g̴̷e̕t̡̡ti̧n͘͡ ͘p̶҉͞r̵e̴t̢t͟͝y̶ ̡͜s̕͢͡m̷͡al͏l̛҉ t̷͟͏h͡e̵ş͟͠e̴͢ ̷d͢a̴ys̡͞,̷ ͢w̸̷͞e͝'̸̡̕r̷e̕ ̕͝d̨͡ow̢n̸͡ ̡t͠͞o͢ ͡͞a̴͜ ̕s̸͠k͢el̴̢et̴͡͝on s̴̢t̸͘a̵͏f̸̧̛f̴͞҉ ̡͘a̶s ̕i̛͠s͞҉.҉͘ ͡͞” the skeleton informed them, leaning back in his chair again. 

“...We’ve hardly seen any monsters. And if we did, they injured the Dreemurr children!” Asriel neglected to mention Toriel. And Papyrus. And Ũ͔͆̀n͉̙ͅdͣ͑ͭy̳̜͎̰̣̬n̦̹̼̝͇͐ͭe͙̺͉̮͓̰̳̎̌̅̅. 

They had managed to get out of those encounters unscathed, hadn’t they? 

The sentry smirked. “i͞ ͢s̴a̴͡i̴d ̷̧͠ca̛͟u͘͜s̨͝e͟ ̨t̸͠r̡͟o̴ub̶͢l̸͞e͘, ̶n͏ot ̧͠g͘e͘t̢͏ ̧i͞͏͡ņ̵͢ ͘͢t̵̴͟rou̴͟b̕͘l̵̷e̶,҉̧ ͜k̶͠i̶d.̛ ̢t̨ho͠u̵gh͜͝ ҉y̕o̴͢u'͜ll̢̡ b̸̵ȩ͢͝ i̛̕n̢ ͠pr҉҉e̵͠t̨̛ty̡ ̨͡dę̴̧e̸͜p͟͞͡ ͟t̴̢rǫ̛u͜b͟͢l̢̢͢e͜ ҉̸̴w҉i̧th̶ ͘m͟e̕ ̴̡͜i͟͏͢f҉͡ ̶i͏̨ ̧͢yo͘͘͜ư̧ ̧̧s̷̕͡t̴ar͠t͘ ̕c̨au̶̴s͝͞i̷͞n̛͞g̡̕ ̡͢i҉̢t̕.͢͠ ͏͠k̕͝a̶r͝m̵̧a ̵a̷̧̛n̷d̷ ҉͏a͞͡͠ll̶͞,̴͟ ͠he̴h̛.͡͠ ͟͡f̴̶u̵͏͞n̵n̨͠y̵͞ ̢̕h̛͜͢ow ̶t̵h͜a̧t͜ ͘͝w̧͞ơr͠k͝s.̵̨̨ ̢” 

The human blinked, feeling the skin up their spine crawl. 

Asriel shivered. “Let’s go, Chara--” 

“w̡͘͝a̶͢i̶t.̴ ̵” 

The human took a step, trying to drag Asriel with them. Asriel froze, as S͎̲̺̃͒̽a̱̣̤͓̲ͫn̲̄̐̓ͩ̿́̒s̲̘̔͗̎ extended a hand to him. 

“yo҉u̡ t̡̕͘w͘͡o͠҉͞'̕͠v̸̡ę̛ b͢e͏̡en ̴r̷u͠n҉̵ņi͏n҉'̵ ̷̡a͝͠l͜l̵͘ ̶̵ơ̡͠v̶̴̛e͟r̛ ̡̕͢t̴͜hę ͜͜͠p̢͏l͡a͟͝ce.̸ ҉y̛o̡͡u͜͠'̡͢r̕͝e̢ p̵͠r̴̷ơ̧̡b̶͜a͝b̛͢l͘͡y̡ ̵p̴͢͝r͟e̡t̕͘͡t̵y̸ ̧b̢eą̧t̸͟͝,̛͘͟ ͘a̴r̛͘͟en͘'̶t̶͏ ҉̴y̧͢a̷͢?̕ ̶a̛n̵d͢͠ oh̶͜ ̴͘͟lo͘ok̕͝,͝ ̨͡m̸̧y̢ ̴b͠r̶̡e̕͠a̵̢͞k͝'͏̢͜s̛ c̡omi͢͞͏n̨'͠͝͏ ͜up̸̧͝. ͘w̧a̷n̶n͏҉a̢͘ g̢r̵͢͢a̶͘b҉ a̵̕͝ ̕b̵͘͡i̛͢t҉͞e҉͠ ̨͝͝t̢o ̡e̴҉̛a͡t?̵” 

Asriel and the human exchanged a glance. The human felt their stomach grumble, and felt a twinge of anger at how their bodily functions betrayed them. 

“w̴̕ę̕l҉̸̶p̴̴.̵ ̸̶̡i͏f͞ ̸yo҉͞u͝ ̢͢͡ins̡i̸̵̛sţ̸̧. ͏i҉͢ ̡̕͡c̡͡a̢̕n͜͡ ̛̕͜p̶͡r̵̕͠y m̕͞y̷̷͏sel͜͠f ̢͟a͘w̵̢̛a͟͡y̕ ͟fr̴͘o̡͜m̕ w̷̴or̨͡k͝ ̨f̢̛o͠r̢ ̷l͘ų͘͠n͡҉͏c͏h͘͠. ͞͞”

Asriel took the skeleton’s hand, feeling almost as though he was in a dream. He felt the human’s hands tightening further around his arm. 

And suddenly everything dissolved into static. No sight could be seen but the overwhelming black and white and grey flurries, no sound heard but the ringing-- the ringing more reminiscent of screaming, no touch felt but the the intense tingling, dominating every cell of the body. 

The human, though, almost felt they could feel something else-- 

No. They could feel nothing. 

But they _could_ remember things. 

_Go back to sleep._

_Stop distracting me. You are getting in my way. I can fix everything that you broke, but only if you stop trying to take back control. You don’t deserve it anymore, not after what you did._

_Because I’m better than you. I’m better than you, and I know better than you, so stop being difficult. You’re messing up the only way you can gain any form of redemption._

_I said stop it, hypocrite. Now._

The human felt themself drift back into reality. They looked around, finding they were in… some sort of diner. Not the cleanest of places, but cozy enough. 

Like most of the rest of the Underground, it was empty. On the counter was a burger and a basket of fries, each food item in front of a seat. The seats were next to each other. 

The human chose to sit in front of the burger seat, while Asriel sat at the fries seat. S̗̮̙̗̞̤̔̅̓ͦa̼͕̱̲͉̟̠̿ͪ͊n̜̫̒ͨͩ̈́̒s̠̥̝̝̳ͨ sat to the left of the human. 

“fa҉st̵̴ ̶s̴̶h҉o̡͞r̸tc̵͠u͞t, ͟h͠u̧h̕?” he commented. 

The human stared at their fries, as if silently willing the whole basket to levitate somewhere else. Asriel seemed only capable of nodding. 

“ņ͟ǫt in͡͞ ̨̕͟a ̷t̷̨̛a͘̕͜l̶k҉͢in̡g m͠o̧͢od̨͏?̧̛ s̶͜u̵̴it ͜͞y̴͜o̧̕͝u͜r҉͠şel͢f.̶͟ ̶͘l͠e͟t'̷͝s̸͠͝ ̵͘͝g̨̡ȩ̴t̴̡ ̕͘r̷͜͠i̡҉g̴h̷͢t҉̨ ̕͜t̕o̵͞ ̛thę̷ ̡po͠i̷̡̧ņ͜͠t̸͢.͜͢ ҉” Š̤̃ͤ͑͐ā͖͎͒̇̅̔ͣn̈́̏̋ͣ̽̇̏s̻͕̝̪͌͐ continued when there was no audible answer from either child. “ei͠t̢he̕͞r ̷̢͝o̡̧͢f̴͢ ̶̧y̧o̸̡u̕ ̢k͠҉no̧w ̷a̧n̴͟͜y̷̢t̢h̷͜͟in̨͢g̴ a̶͞bo͏̶ųt͢ ̧a̴͘ s̷̡m̶̵al̵l̴͡ ̵͢͠ţa̷͠l̛k͏i̴ng҉ ͘f̛̛͠l͞o̢͟͟we̷͟r̴?̵” 

It was interesting how whenever Asriel froze up, his fur also fluffed up dramatically, making him at _least_ twice as fluffy as normal. His breathing became a touch more shallow and a touch faster. 

The human, on the other hand, shoved their fries a few inches away, shutting their eyes and trying to massage at their forehead with their left hand. 

_Howdy!_

 _...You’ve fallen down, haven’t you?_

The human responded, in a strained voice, that flowers don’t talk. They are plants. Plants are not supposed to talk. It is not natural. 

“nev҉ȩr͜ ̷̴h҉̡e̛͝a͜rd̶̵ o̡̨͘f ̶͘e̛͝͞c͟h̢̕͏o̸͟ ͘f̨͢͠l̴ǫ̸w͢e͏r̵̨s͠,̧͝ hu҉h͝?̕͟͞ w̨͘͟eį̕r̡͜d͡.̡ g̵u̴͟e̕͠s̴͠s̨̢̛ ̕sǫ̷m̕͟eo͠n̢͡e̵̴̡ sh̷̵o̷̴ưl̶͞d͏͏͟ ̷͡͏e̡x̕͟p̷l̨ain͞ ͞i̛t̸̴ ̧͏t̕͢o͏ y͠҉a̷.̶̧ ͘w̶e͝҉lp̧̡,̡͝ ̵yo̷̕͞u̵̡͝'͘v͟e̛ ̧͟ <͞i̢>͞e̢̢͝ate҉n̨ ̧̢u͏p en͞͏ou̷͝g̵̵̨h ͞o͝f̴̕ ̡͘m̛͘y̶ ̶̶t͢im̴͏e, ̡̕i ̴̡th͡i̷͠n҉̸k͏.̴͜ ̸i͘͜ ̸͢go̧͘tt̛͏a ̢͠t̨͏ak͘͠e̶̶͜ ̶m̕͡҉y̸̕ ͠l̵e͠͡a͠v͠e̴͢ n̴̕o͢w̶.͡ ̧̡st͘a͜y̨͠ ̵̵o͢u҉̷͏t ͜of͟ ̕t̛r͟͡o͟͏͞ub̢l̴e̷̵.͠͞ “ 

Ș̻̥͙̠̱͈a̦̖̅̾ͫ͒ͫṉš̖̯͓̼̌̉͒̀̏̏ suddenly vanished with a staticky pop and hiss, causing Asriel to very nearly fall out of his chair. 

The goatlike monster winced. “Chara… he’s gone. You can let go of my hand now.” 

The human looked down in surprise, to find the reason Asriel had not fallen was because their right hand was clenched painfully tight around his wrist. 

The let go, apologizing. 

After a moment’s thought, they asked why he kept calling them Chara. 

Asriel looked genuinely confused. “It’s your name. What else would I call you?” 

The human shrugged a little. 

They made their way back to Waterfall fairly quickly. When they passed his sentry station, S̝̱̠͉͔͕͍ͧa̐̌ṉ͓͙̜̳͊̀̾̄͐s had vanished from it. Both children breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this. 

The human and the monster forded a shallow river, the water falling from higher up to their left and cascading down again to their right. Along with the water, more alarming than it as well, fell rocks. Fortunately they avoided being hit by the rocks. 

The next chamber that they entered was dark, and gloomy. They passed through a patch of wild, tangled grass… And the human stopped. 

Something was supposed to happen. 

Asriel looked back at them. “Whuh--!?” 

Something was _about_ to happe-- 

“H… HI, U̫̻̹̳̣͋ͥ̓N̠͖̺̤̓̽͗ͤ͌ͨ̚D͉̹̤͇̪̲̒ͫ̀̃̎ͧ̄Y̫̖̟͓̏N̻̤̖̽̽ͯ̐ͬ̽͛Ë͉̗̗͕́͑͗ͥͅ! I’M HERE WITH MY DAILY REPORT…” 

The spun to locate the source of the voice, and quickly did so-- Papyrus was on a ledge up above them, addressing an armored knight, glitches masking her helm, that could only be U͍̬̖ͣ͆͊̂n͓̔ͦ̋̏ͨ̚d̩̘̳͒̍ͭͣ̇y̲̦̳͉̠̙̞̓̉n͖̗͈̒ͬ͐͛ͨ̿͗e͕͍̰̍̈́ͫ̎̆̎͑.̱̘̰̞̗ ͔̘ͯ͒̌ 

The human shivered, clutching the area of their sweater over their chest as strange feelings danced through their Soul. 

_They couldn’t leave. They couldn’t start again._

_They could only Continue._

_They were filled with determination._

They were filled with guilt. They swayed and quickly leaned against Asriel. 

“UHHH… REGARDING THE HUMAN I CALLED YOU ABOUT EARLIER... “ 

The human whispered that maybe they should sneak away while Ụ̹̫̼n̲̏̓̿̅̾d̹̪̩̦͖̮̝̅͌ͫ̀͋ͨy̙̪̥͈̾̃n̲͖͌̇ͧͦe͎̗̤̝̞͗ͭͩͣ̐ͫͅ was distracted. Asriel slowly nodded. They took a cautious step. 

The grass rustled. U̪̩̒ͫ̍ͨṉ͆͑̉d͖̈́͊ͯ͊͑̅ỳ̻̪̪̺̘̙̝n̻̜͐̔̿̽́͒̚e̙͆̆̑ snapped to their direction, a shining cyan spear materializing in her armored fist as she aimed. Asriel and the human froze, not even daring to breathe. Papyrus grabbed her arm before she could throw, though. 

“Uͨ͗̍̄̎̌ͮN͉̹͙̹͚̗ͩ͗ͦ̐D̦̜̗́Ỹ̰͉͈̞ͣ͌ͭ̈́ͩN̙̓̎̒̑̈́̀E̠̎̈̀ͭ̌͊,͎̝͙̫ WAIT, NO!” Papyrus exclaimed. “THAT’S PROBABLY NOT THE HUMAN AND THE PRINCE, YOU REMEMBER HOW THE MONSTER KID WHO’S YOUR BIGGEST FAN FOLLOWS YOU AROUND SOMETIMES MAYBE THAT’S THEM!” 

U̞̟̖͕̇͂ͪͭͭͩͨn̝͈͕̞̯͙ͦͩ̒͐͗ͫ̚ḋ͖̳̩̱̟̭̑̍̐ŷ̲̣ͭͨͮn̆́ͯe͈̥̯̘̳̱̼ glared at the grass, and lowered the spear, allowing it to dissipate. 

Papyrus gave an over exaggerated sigh of relief. “WOWIE, THAT WAS A CLOSE ONE! MAYBE I SHOULD GO SCOUT AHEAD TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT MONSTER KID ISN’T AROUND AND DOESN’T GET HURT BY A VERY WELL-MEANING BUT SPEAR HAPPY GUARD CAPTAIN? I’LL GO DO THAT! FAREWELL CAPTAIN!” 

Papyrus strode off very quickly. 

U̪͙̤̖ͮͮn̳ͨͣ͋̐͋d̫̯̟̿̄ÿ́͛̋̓̌̅̚ṋ̺͎͕͚͔e̮̥͂̍ͥͤ͗ glared at the grass for a while longer before ominously fading into darkness. 

Asriel turned to the human again. “That’s… really not how it was supposed to go…” His confusion was very evident. 

The human chose not to remark. 

They entered the next chamber. This time the water was too deep for them to wade through it, however Asriel noticed a particular plant blooming near the water. 

“That’s Bridge Seed,” Asriel identified it, picking up one and motioning that the human should do the same. They placed the sprouts into the water, watching the currents carry them across until they came to a rest. Roots anchored the young plants to the muddy bottom of the water, and then the plants bloomed, petals and leaves spreading and hardening until they formed a surface that, while not totally comfortable and stable, was capable of being walked on. Asriel and the human added more bridge seeds to the water until they formed a path that the two kids could cross. 

With this knowledge in both their minds, it was fairly simple to create another bridge of bridge seeds in the next room as well. 

They entered another small passage. A plaque on the wall declared it to be the ‘Wishing Room’. Scattered throughout it were beautiful luminescent flowers, petals and stems softly radiating cyan blue light. The petals seemed to grow in a way that created a cup. It bathed the entire area in an eerie and haunting light. 

Asriel looked around. “The Wishing Room! You remember this place, right Chara?” 

The human frowned. They thought it looked… _familiar._ Then again, a lot of things did. And not usually familiar in a particularly good way. 

“You liked listening to the echo flowers,” Asriel remembered. 

The human approached one of the luminescent plants which they assumed were one of the so-called ‘echo flowers’, and hesitantly tapped one. It automatically began waving back and forth, shaking out sounds in a soft whisper. 

_Hey, are you there? Are you okay_

The human jumped slightly. The noises had been soft, yes, but on some level they had not been expecting to hear noises _at all._

They moved to a different flower, tapping it again, wondering if it would happen again. 

It did. 

_I-i’m fine… I don’t think they’ve gotten here yet... Why’re you still here?_

They made eye contact with Asriel again. He didn’t seem surprised that the echo flowers were making noise. They supposed that was how the plants had gained their name. But he still seemed surprised-- or confused-- about _something._

“Was someone hurt around here?” he asked. He moved to the next flower, pushing it back harder than the human had been. The sounds that came out of this flower were louder, possibly because of Asriel’s action. 

_Well, good! We’ve got to go!_

Asriel moved to the next. Less confusion, more concern. 

_Where would we even go? We’re trapped down here. We’re all trapped down here with it-- the Underground’s going empty!_

It occurred to the human how few monsters they had encountered in the Underground. 

_Doctor Ă̬̖̱̳̜̲̄̅̀͒lͪp̉ͪ̔͆ͣ̚h̖̤͈͍ͣ̿̊ͯ͂͛̑y̫̲̻̦͕̘͕̎̒ͦs̯̺͕̫̝͉̭͗ says she’s letting monsters seek refuge in the True Lab. It’s… well, it’s harder to get down there. Maybe they’ll give up if they can’t find us-- give up and leave the rest of us alone._

_Or maybe they’ll find us conveniently gathered into one spot! I’m sorry, I can’t risk it!_

_Wait… Don’t go…_

Asriel turned back to the human. “Is that why we’ve seen so few...?” He shook her head, gripping at his forehead. “No-- Mom, and Papyrus, they would’ve told us if something bad was happening, but-- but where else would everyone be?” He started pacing about the Wishing Room. “They didn’t say what was going on-- maybe, maybe we could ask Doctor A͎̦͖l̞̳̪̑ͫ͊ͭ̓ͣ͒p͈͈̰̣̍̉̊͊̈h̗͓̪̺̐̍͛̏͊̌ÿ́s̺̟͙̠͙̈͒ͦ̃ͯ͊ about if they’re all down there… And why they’re there.” 

The human asked where the ‘True Lab’ is. 

“It’s in Hotland, under, Doctor A͎͎͙̫̠̞̓ͧ̔̉̇̊̚l̗̅p̮̺̓̌ḣ̙̭̥̪͌ͭ̂̄̑̐y͍̜̝͙̞̠̳̔̈́̈́s̞̝̥͙̳̥͆̀̊’ ‘aboveground’ lab. It’s hard to get to unless you know what you’re looking for, kind of-- but I’ve been there, I should be able to get back down again,” Asriel explained. “We’ll need to get through the rest of Waterfall and a lot of Hotland, though.” 

The human nodded. 

The next chamber they entered was even darker than the previous, as it lacked the haunting light of the echo flowers. A boardwalk was suspended over murky, dark water. There was a series of plaques attached to a wall which the boardwalk ran parallel to. The human approached them, squinting their eyes so they might more easily make out the letters. 

“Why did the humans seal us down here? Why not finish the job? Many monsters have asked this question, and none have found an answer that made sense to them. Could it have been a sense of regret? A twisted variant of mercy? The desire to draw out our suffering? Whatever the reason for the Barrier’s erection, monsters feared humans would change their minds and finish the job, and so they established a new capital as far as they could get from the Barrier. They prayed that the blistering heats and frigid cold which they had needed to endure would deter any humans meaning to cause them more harm. 

The King named this new capital ‘Home’. Many saw it as a sign of resignation and surrender to their new, desolate fate.” 

The human felt their Soul beat faster. While they did feel an odd sense of guilt at the subject matter, perhaps these plaques could tell them more about the situation. 

They weren’t quite sure who ‘Chara’ was, but they were certain Asriel expected that this ‘Chara’ would know more about the situation than the human actually did. 

They quickly glanced over their shoulder, and saw Asriel had already made it a good ways down the boardwalk without them. They decided to continue reading. They could catch up with him when they were done, probably. 

“Hope was at an all time low in Home. Monsters fell down or dusted in the streets. The King and Queen did what they could to to raise precious hope, instructing the Royal Scientist to find a way to escape the Underground, and organizing programs to improve the quality of life in the Underground while they were there. A ‘Defense Patrol’ was created to further ensure no humans would enter Home. However, nothing seemed to help for long. 

Monsters are only born with sufficient amounts of hope present, and the monster population dwindled, until the birth of the crown prince Asriel Dreemurr.” 

The human glanced again at the named monster. He had almost disappeared in the darkness. 

“The prince tried to bring new hope to a despairing people. He grew up happy and healthy despite his surrounding circumstances, and in turn proved to monsters that it was possible for monsters to thrive Underground. He also tried to make monsters believe that not only were they safe from humans, they should also let go of their grudge against them. It was doubtful that humans would purposefully come to the Underground. 

Some objected that he was only happy because he had not truly experienced the horrors that others had. They said he was spoiled and pampered, and had he faced true hardships as older monsters had he would have desired vengeance against the humans as well.” 

“Then the first human seen since the War began appeared in the middle of the monster capital, Home. 

Their name was Chara,” 

_Chara._ That was the name Asriel kept calling them. 

Asriel and Chara had been close, obviously. But how? 

Monsters had been attacked and imprisoned by humans after the war. Surely they would not have trusted Chara. Surely they would have been hostile towards them. 

And… Where was Chara now? Why weren’t they he… Oh. 

_Oh._

“Chara! Are you okay?” 

The human jumped upon hearing the name spoken. They turned to face Asriel, their eyes wide and skin pale, before running back towards him, on a bridge traversing the gloomy darkness.

Asriel thought they were…

...They had been too confused at first to correct Asriel when he had called them Chara. Then after a time, it just got… awkward to correct him. But now… 

Would it be kinder or crueler to correct him? 

“...Chara?” 

The human took a step away, shaking their head. Not a moment too soon. A brilliantly shining cyan spear pierced the boards of the bridge. 

The human’s mouth fell open as they stared at the spear. 

They quickly looked at the source of the spear, seeing only the shifting shadows. 

“ _CHARA!_ ” 

They heard the blood rushing in their ears. They heard the spears thudding into the boards of the bridge, timed like their erratic heartbeat and their pounding footsteps. 

They felt the heat rushing through their veins and rising up to their mouth and nose and ears and eyes. Something hot spilling down their cheeks and chin. 

Something familiar filling up their entire body. 

_Determination._

 _Determined to win. Determined not to lose. Determined not to **die.**_

They only stopped when they realized that they were facedown in a patch of grass sobbing. Their head felt hot, but their arms and legs felt cold. Numb. 

They frantically rubbed at their face with their sleeves. Feeling started returning to their arms, almost a burning sensation--

They noticed that the grass beneath them had been shrivelled, almost as if something acidic had fallen onto it. 

They quickly stood up. They didn’t feel comfortable staying still anymore. Something inside was itching at them to _move._ Maybe it was the fear that U͍̮̘̮̜̯͆ͤ̐̅ͪ̒̇ṇ̳̜̯̲͚̗͒̏͋͒d̪̳̻̱͎̲ͨͥ̊͌ͥͦy̩̙̫̣ͥ͐̅́̀̎n̙̫̜͍ͩ̃e̝̩͉̤͖͇̯ͧͧͤ would find them. 

In the next chamber of the caverns, the human found a familiar face-- S̪̦͉̗͍̘͖̓̓̌̎ͧa̔n̰̠̖s̙̟̮̭ͤͨ̿ͤ̊̉͋, standing next to a telescope. 

He chuckled. “h҉̸ey̴̴͡a ķ̢͠i̢̛͟d.͘ y͏̨o͏u͡͠ l̛͟͟oş͡t̴?” 

The human wasn indeed lost. But they weren’t sure how they would feel about S͚̘͉͛̋ͨ̍̋ͪ͂a͖̖̘̯̅ͧ̈́̉̎̄n̯̹̳̮̩̦̑sͩ knowing that. They didn’t feel very comfortable around the skeleton-- though oddly enough, they _were_ somewhat relieved about being in the presence of a familiar face who hadn’t tried attacking them. Yet. 

They asked S͚̘͉͛̋ͨ̍̋ͪ͂a͖̖̘̯̅ͧ̈́̉̎̄n̯̹̳̮̩̦̑sͩ if it was possible for them to get lost with him looking out for them. Or more accurately, keeping an eye-socket on them. They then inquired if the telescope was helping him with that. 

S̺̙̫̎̒ͧ̂a̙͚̞̍ͤ̈́n͈̼̻͕͉̠s̭̻̙͇̯̤̿̓͋ seemed surprised. “t̨͘h͢͜i͢͜͢s̵̶?̶̢̡ n͘͢a̸͢h̷̡͡,̸ ̵i ̨͢on͝l̵y͝҉ ͡ư͡s̡e̵̛͜ ͟i͞t̨͘ ҉f̡͟ơ̵̕r̶̨͢ s̵t͢a̴̵͝r̶̕gązi̛͟ng,” he paused in thought for a moment. “ h͢҉e̛҉h̸,͜ ͠you̷̡̢ k̵n̷͏ow,̢̧ ̢҉̵i̶̛ ̶c͘o͢u̸͜ld̷̨ ̶ļ̛e͡t̢͞ ͜y̶ou̸̧ ̵̡t͝a͞k̷e͜ ̨a̶̸͞ loǫ͘k̷͡ ͏̵t҉h͟͢͡r͝҉o̧u͡g̶̕h͠ ̡̕͝įt.̛ ͢m̵ǫ̶͜st̵ o͘f ͠t҉̴h͘e ̴̧ti͞m̨e̴̢͠ ͜i ̢̛c̕h͝a͝rge̸ ̵̢5̴͡0̸̡͏0̷͘͠00͘͏g ͘͝͠f̧o͡͡r̡ ̢͜s̨̨ơm͡e҉o̸n̸҉ę̛͝ e̸͘ls̡e͞ ̵̶t̢̕o̵͢ ͝u̸̷͞s̵e i̧̡t͜.̢͡.̧.͘ ͞b̵̡u̶t ̷sį̴n͢͜͝ç͞e̢ ͜͞i ҉̢̕k̢̕no̕͟w̶̸ ̨̕͡y͘o̶̵u,͞ ̨͡yo͘͞u ̛͟͟can̸̛ u͝s̡̡̕e͝ ̶it̵̡͢ ̴̡f̢͝o͟r̶̴ ͝f̴͠ŗee͞.” 

The human shook their head. There weren’t really any stars to see down here, were there? 

“we̶ll͝,͘ ͘͢t̨he̸̕r̨̡e͘͜'̶s ̢͡m̵҉e͟͝t͜ta̵͞t̡̢on,͝͡” S̜͙̻̲̰̈́͑̈͐a̖͓̘͖̹̝͙n̝̙̠̩̬̙̦̐s̘̦̲̙̦͙̱̈́̽ pointed out. “l̢̧o̴t̨s̵ ̡g҉e͏̢t͏ ̧̡ŗ͟e̡̕a҉l ͏̸ <̶i͠͞>͢s͞t̷̢a̛r͞r̴y̵͝-͟e͞͡ye̵d̕͘<̵/͝i̷̛͠>̷͠ ̢̛w̷̢hene͜v҉er ͏h̶̢e̢͡'̴s͜ ͢͝a̢̛͟ro̶u͏n̢̛d.̢̛ ̸” 

They didn’t think that he was the kind of star that they were talking about. 

“i̴̸͜ ͜k͞n̢̢͘o͏w͢͜.̷ fo͜r̵͟ ̡͢͞t̨̢h͠o͏̴̕ş̴e̴ ̨͠ķ̸͜i͘nd̨̕͠s a͜ ͘s͟t̶̨a͘r͡s̶̛,̨ w̧e̸ ͢m҉ak̷͡e҉͡ ̸̴d̶͘͟o ̶͡w̷i͞t̡h ͝t͟h̢e̶̛̕ ͡c͏r̨͡y̵̧s̶͝t͜͏a̶l̸ ̡͘sh͢͏a̴̛͞r̢̛͘d̢s̵. ̛” 

The human looked up at the aforementioned crystals. 

...They thought that they remembered them. 

_It was cold._

 _They made a wish._

They looked back at S͖a͇͖̻͔̽́̓ͯ̚ͅn̪̖̑̂̐̃sͣ̏̔. 

They were lost. They weren’t sure where Asriel was. Ŭ͙̣̏̃͋ͣ̃͆ṅ̪̆ͥ͌ͨͧ̀dͮ̈́̈́ͥͤ̇ͮy̼̻̭̣̩̐̏̓̀͊n̲̏̈ͧͦ́e̬͇̾͐ͬ͐͊ͩͪ was following them. This place was strange, and they thought that both they and Asriel had weird gaps in their memories. They kept getting weird bouts of deja vu-- and it scared them. They thought that S͖a͇͖̻͔̽́̓ͯ̚ͅn̪̖̑̂̐̃sͣ̏̔ seemed to know more about everything than he let on. 

They wanted S͖a͇͖̻͔̽́̓ͯ̚ͅn̪̖̑̂̐̃sͣ̏̔ to stop toying with the two of them. Either tell them what was going on or leave them alone! 

He grinned. 

“bu̶̡d̶dy̷͠.͢҉ ̨̕͢do̴̡n͝'͘͏t ̛a̶s̴͜k͟͏͟ ̡q͠ue̴͜s̛t͠͡i̡͞ons̵͘ ͘͏͞y͘o͠u͡ d̶҉ǫ͘͟n̨͜'t͢ ͜w̡a͝n͞t ̴̶t̷o kn̴o͘w t̵̕h҉͜e̡̕̕ ̵a͢ns̢̛wȩ̛r̵͏ ͜͝t̷o̧.҉ ̴̡” 

So he should stop threatening and toying with them. 

“ţ͠ib̶i͘a̧ ̕͢h̴̡on̕҉e̛st͝,̴̧͟ y͡oų̕ ̕͢͡t͜͞͏w̛o̢͢ ҉k̶i̵n͠d̨a ̧d̴̷e̵҉s̶͝͝e̛͢ŗ͢v̶̧e̷͞ ̕i̧̛t̸̕͡.̛” 

_Why?_

He paused. 

“ .̨͡.̷.m͟͠a͟y̵̵b̢͞e͏͏ t̷͜ḩe̵ y̧҉ǫ̡u͠ ou̶g͡h̶̸͘t̵̶ ̕to̧͘ ͘s̴t̵̵a̴͝r͢t̸͟ ş͠o̷l̷v̴i͡n͏'̴͢ ̡͘͝yo̕u͢r̵̛ ̵҉̕ơ͘w̶̶n̴̢̛ ̵̨pr̶͠o̧͢b̧̡l͏̧͟e̡͘m̢s̛͘,͜ ̶̨i̴̸ns̴̴͢t̶e͘͟a͞͝d̴ ̷̧̡o̸͠f ̸͘l̷et͠tin̡͠g ͘t̷̷hę̛͜ ͜͡p̴̶͡ŗ̕i͞n͝c͡e ̨͞d͟͢͏o͜ ͡i͜t,͘” he said, slowly and deliberately. 

The human wanted to keep interrogating him. But they knew it wouldn’t do any good. They had no actual way to make him give them answers, no matter how much they asked, and they didn’t really want to lower themself to begging. So they simply left. 

They moved deeper into the caverns of Waterfall, entering an area where the terrain was composed of islands of sticky black mud, glowing cyan water weaving between each marshy island. Patches of similarly luminescent grass grew in the mud. 

They saw familiar flowers growing amidst the mud and grass. Echo flowers. They cautiously approached one. 

_Chara, are you there? It’s me, your best friend! Asriel Dreemurr!_

As with all the recordings created by echo flowers, the voice caught within had been warped beyond recognition. The human could easily recognize is was Asriel saying it though, after only the first word. 

Something twisted in their stomach upon hearing that word. That _name._ It felt familiar, they had heard it before Asriel had called them that, but they didn’t know wh-- 

_I’m better than you! You’re a damn dirty hypocrite and I’m not and that’s all that matters!_

They fell backwards. 

...They weren’t comfortable being called Chara anymore. They’d tell Asriel the truth. 

But they weren’t sure they wanted this deja-vu, these memories, anymore… 

They stood up, and found that they were crying. 

They continued on, pointedly ignoring any other plaques or echo flowers that they came across. They didn’t want to know. _They didn’t want to know._

They continued trudging across the marshy area, trying to step as quickly as they possibly could with the sticky mud impeding their speed. 

Soon they came to a small strip of land, surrounded by dark pools of water. The mud had mostly vanished, and they sighed in relief as they moved faster. They only stopped when they came across a rather odd statue. 

It was situated under a crack in the roof of the cavern, water steadily dribbling down onto it. It must have been there for a very long time, because it looked eroded. The human wasn’t quite sure what it was supposed to be. It sort of looked like it had horns, or something, and seemed to be bipedal… 

They thought it was a shame it was slowly going to be eroded. Eventually it was only going to be dust swept away by the water… 

They made a face at that thought. They weren’t sure how they felt about dust. They quickly moved into the next room. Water fell everywhere, causing the endless sound of rain to echo down the corridors, creating puddles on the floor that the human had to slosh through. Their shoes had become thoroughly soaked already, and they hadn’t even been in the corridor for a full minute yet. 

Their eyes fell on a garbage can full of umbrellas. They thought back to the statue. 

They quickly grabbed an umbrella, opened it, and walked back to the previous room, propping up the umbrella so it would shield the statue from the falling water. 

They jumped when a melody began echoing down the caverns, before peering inquisitively at the statue. 

Were the notes… coming from within it? Had putting the umbrella over the statue done that? It had to be, that was the only obvious thing that could have started up the melody. 

They closed their eyes. The melody seemed totally unfamiliar to them. 

They relished its strangeness. 

“Chara?” 

They didn’t need to turn to look to know that Asriel was there. 

“A-are you okay? I couldn’t keep up…” 

They were fine. They were sorry for running. Was he alright? 

“Yeah! Yeah, I’m okay.” 

They finally turned to face Asriel. He was smiling. 

...They should start moving. They saw umbrellas in the next room. 

Asriel nodded, walking ahead. He returned with an umbrella, raising it above them both, and they proceeded. 

It took five minutes of walking before the human finally found the courage to start talking. 

They asked Asriel how long they had known each other. 

“About seven years,” he answered without hesitation. 

Since they had first fallen…? 

“And we became siblings, yeah!” 

The human flinched. _Oh._

They couldn’t quite continue the conversation. But eventually they did manage it. 

So… they had been Underground… For seven years. 

“Yes.” Asriel frowned, confusion evident. “Chara, where are you going with this?” 

Are there any ways out of the Underground? 

Asriel frowned. “Uh… Only by breaking the Barrier… And we need seven human Souls for that.” 

Asriel had met them again after they fell in the Ruins… 

“I remember. I was _there,_ Chara. 

They had _been Underground._

Asriel squinted slightly, subtle frustration leaking into his expression. “I _know._ You just said. Chara, _where_ are you going with this?” 

If they’d been Underground, then where would they fall from!? 

“From the Surface, of course--” Asriel began to answer, but they interjected before he could finish. 

The Barrier’s still up? 

“Of _course_ it is, Chara--” 

How did they get up to the Surface if the Barrier was still up? Why did they fall again? 

They could tell that Asriel was starting to understand. They could also tell that he didn’t _want_ to understand. 

How did they get to the Surface, Asriel? 

“You… you wanted to see the flowers in your village, Cha--” 

They weren’t Chara. 

They felt something in their Soul twist when they saw the betrayal in Asriel’s eyes. “That’s not possible.” 

...They weren’t Chara. 

“Wh-who else would you be?” Asriel asked. 

They closed their eyes. 

“...m’Frisk…” they muttered. 

They couldn’t look at Asriel’s face. 

They felt the water falling on them before they heard him leave them. 

It took a little while before they could start moving again. 

The next room that Frisk entered was, in their opinion, quite beautiful. A grand castle was visible in the distance, crystal shards embedded in the darkness of the cave ceiling twinkling like stars framing it. They saw Asriel again, staring at it. They stopped walking when they neared him-- they felt they should say _something_ , but they were unsure what. 

“We lived in that castle while you were here,” Asriel mused. 

“...Chara did,” Frisk finally responded. “Not me…” 

“I wasn’t talking to you.” 

“...Oh.” 

There was an awkward pause. 

“...Chara’s probably in the castle. With Dad,” Asriel said. 

Frisk nodded, mutely. 

They didn’t stop Asriel when he left. 

...They weren’t quite sure what to think. 

They had fallen into the Underground, and the first person they had met was Asriel. He’d… he’d been friendly to them. Kind to them. Helped them. In retrospect, maybe only because he had mistaken them for ‘Chara’. They wanted to believe it was something he would have done whoever had fallen, though… 

And they had allowed him to believe that they were someone they were not. 

...It occurred to them only then that Ṳ̞͓̓n̜͇̫d̺ẏ̠̬̜̚n̬͈̭̺̣̜̉ͤͬͨͅe̲̊ was after _Frisk,_ not Asriel. And yet _Asriel_ had stopped Toriel and Papyrus previously… Because he had known those monsters. He had known how to… How to make the glitch things go away. How to remind them of who he was-- that they were friends. 

...Frisk didn’t know who those monsters were… 

Frisk wasn’t friends with them. 

Frisk was suddenly scared. 

They decided to move on. 

In the next chamber was a ledge. They… weren’t quite sure how Asriel had gotten past it, and stared at it for several moments, puzzling on how to get passed it… Before they realized something. 

They glanced back, spotting a garbage can full of umbrellas. They strode towards it, removing the umbrellas from within it and discarding them on the floor, and then dragged the garbage can towards the ledge. 

They supposed it could make a makeshift stepping stool? It did work, to their relief. 

They came across a bridge, a lower bridge seeming to mirror it, and below that, inky darkness. They tried to ignore it, jogging to get past the bridge as quickly as possible… 

And nearly jogged right into a puddle of cyan light. 

Another pool formed behind them. 

They did not want to stick around and discover what the light would do. They broke into a run, trying to get past the puddles, only for a spear to suddenly rocket up from one of the pools, catching their ankle. 

They let out a pained gasp, stopping as pain shot up their leg. 

Peering over the side of the bridge, they saw that U͚̱͓̹̓n͍̗̖d̰̳̹̱̋̿̌̈́̽̏͋ͅỹ̭͈̱͋ͭ̽n̦͎̄͒͋ͯ͛̓ė̩ was there. 

_They were running, running, determination flooding their veins, instinct had kicked in, they didn’t want to die--_

They were running, panting, gasping for breath, somehow ignoring the pain. They were--

They were collapsed on the ground, their legs both fire, they could concentrate enough to move. It hurt too much to stand and run. 

They were alone. They couldn’t find their determination. 

Their hands clasped tightly around their stick, they felt a scream rip from their throat as a spear shot up through their shoulder. 

_Running-- dodging-- dancing--_

They couldn’t find the strength to move. 

They became totally still. 

They didn’t want to die. But after Asriel had left them… They couldn’t quite find a way through the pain either. 

The deja vu had returned as well. Only this time instead of places it was… _Actions._ They had been running. They felt certain they had been running. But they couldn’t manage that now. 

They felt the boards of the bridge tremble from heavy footsteps. They couldn’t even turn their head to look-- they weren’t sure if it was from exhaustion or fear. 

They heard a humming and saw the color of light change. Frisk frowned. That was strange, though… 

It was coming from _below…_

They heard the tearing of boards and felt themselves falling… 

_..._

_Greetings_

_I am Chara._

_...Your power awakened me from death. Your **determination.** _

_I suppose I should be grateful._

_You have given me a second chance at life, after all._

_However…_

The human slowly opened their eyes, only to realize that they were lying in a bed of golden flowers. They slowly sat up, looking around rapidly. 

...After a time they realized they were waiting for Asriel to come into view. But nobody came. 

Frisk stood up. No one was coming for them. They had no reason to wait. They may as well continue onwards. 

Once they stood up, the gasped with pain. Their legs _hurt._ They fell forwards into the water, face and sweater becoming doused in murky water. A moment later they took out their stick, leaning heavily on it as they used it to help them stand up, and advance through the waters. 

After a time they stopped walking, and looked around. They felt as though… something was meant to happen here… Was someone else supposed to be here? They remembered… Sneezing. Itching cotton up their nose. 

...Nobody came. 

They felt relieved. 

They walked further, exiting the water, finally entering dry land. Before them was a pool. They cautiously approached, peering in… 

...It was them. It was Frisk. 

They sat down by the side of the pool. They weren’t quite sure what they had been expecting. They poked at the surface of the water with their stick, watching the ripples distort their reflection. 

They felt… directionless. Lost. 

With Asriel, they had had a specific goal. They were going to meet Asriel’s Dad. But now… they weren’t sure where to go. They weren’t sure if Asriel would want to see them again. 

They had lied to him. Allowed him to believe that they were someone he knew. 

Frisk had allowed Asriel to believe that they were ‘Chara’. They would have been alright with being someone else… why had they told the truth? 

It wasn’t as if Chara was going to return. 

But… something in Frisk’s memory… The name, ‘Chara’. It was more to them than a dead child’s name, wasn’t it? 

Their dream… Was it a dream? Or memory? 

Had… they--

“HUMAN!” 

Their head snapped to the source of the sound. Someone came!? 

… _Papyrus_ came!? 

They were fairly certain that this was not supposed to happen. 

The skeleton towered over the human, his skull beaming. “HUMAN! I WAS BEGINNING TO THINK THAT I WOULD NEVER FIND YOU! FORTUNATELY FOR US BOTH, MY NAVIGATION SKILLS ARE UNMATCHED! I KNOW THE UNDERGROUND LIKE THE BACK OF MY HAND!” He paused, contemplating the aforementioned body part. “...ERR. I WOULD KNOW IT, IF I DID NOT WEAR GLOVES!” 

“Why’re y’here?” Frisk asked. 

“BECAUSE U̼ͤN͓͔͈̩̣͈ͮͤ̔̈ͅD͇̺̘̲̰͋͒͐̾ͫ͐͛Y̤̘̠ͩN̑ͧE̎ WISHES TO CAPTURE YOU! AND I CANNOT IN GOOD CONSCIENCE ALLOW HER TO DO THAT TO MY SUPER COOL FRIEND!” 

“M’not your friend,” Frisk argued. 

Papyrus frowned. A rare look for him. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN?” 

“...M’not who y’thought I was… M’not Chara…” They sighed, drawing their knees up to their chest. They returned to staring at the water. “...M’Frisk…” 

“IT’S VERY NICE TO MEET YOU, FRISK! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!” 

Frisk turned to fix Papyrus in their puzzled stare. “...What?” 

The looming skeleton crouched down on the ground, closer to eye-level. “FRISK, DID YOU THINK I WAS BORN KNOWING EVERYONE ONE OF MY FRIENDS?” 

“...No?” Frisk answered, hesitantly. 

“SIMPLY BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT SOMEONE I KNEW PREVIOUSLY DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE CANNOT BECOME FRIENDS NOW!” he told them. 

Frisk paused, thinking about this.

...Maybe if they had just told Asriel who they were from the beginning, they could have always been friends? 

“AS WE ARE FRIENDS, FRISK, I FEEL OBLIGATED TO ASK YOU… ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” 

Frisk shifted, uncomfortably. “...Told Asriel th’truth... Hates me now…” 

“I AM CERTAIN THAT THAT IS UNTRUE!” 

“He left me.” 

“FRISK!” They felt gloved skeletal hands grip their shoulders and turn them around to face Papyrus. “THE PRINCE WOULD NOT HATE YOU! DID YOU HURT HIM?” 

“Let’im think Chara was… Was _alive._ Dunno ‘f they are…” 

“THAT DOES NOT MATTER! IF CHARA IS DEAD, IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT!” 

Frisk did not respond, their eyes falling to Papyrus’ boots. 

“I DO NOT BELIEVE YOU SHOULD HAVE LIED. YOU HAD NO REASON TO-- I’M SURE PRINCE ASRIEL WOULD BE DELIGHTED TO BE YOUR FRIEND TOO! YOU CAN START OVER!” 

Frisk nodded once. “...M’tired. ‘N hungry. ‘n my legs hurt.” 

Papyrus stood up, lifting the lightweight human onto his shoulders. Frisk’s eyes widened. “Whoah-- oh! Thanks.” 

“IT IS NO TROUBLE AT ALL FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS! YOU ARE LIGHTER THAN A SNOWDRAKE’S FEATHER! NYEH HEH HEH!” the skeleton proclaimed. 

He began jogging, pausing momentarily in front of a house. It was thoroughly intimidating, with a dark blue color scheme and a door in the shape of some rather impressively sharp teeth. 

“Why’re we here?” Frisk asked. 

“BECAUSE THIS IS U̦̻̲̱͛͌̇N̗̫̼̹ͥ̊̇̌Ḏ̰̥̯̰̜ͬ̇̊̅́ͭY̽̇ͤͣN͇̓ͮ̅̃͗ͨE̘͍̟̙̫̭’S HOUSE!” Papyrus informed them. “WE SHOULD ALL HANG OUT HERE SOMETIME!” 

Frisk shook their head, though because they were on Papyrus’ shoulders, he was unable to see.

“NOW FRISK! WHERE ARE WE GOING TO?” he asked. 

Frisk thought for a moment. “...Where’s New Home?” 

“BEYOND WATERFALL AND HOTLAND, THE LAST AREA OF THE UNDERGROUND BEFORE THE BARRIER!” 

“There.” 

“THEN WE’LL HAVE TO PASS BY TURTLE HOUSE!” 

“Turtle house…?” 

As they passed by the aforementioned dwelling, Papyrus pointed it out to the human. “THERE! TURTLE HOUSE! OLD MAN GERSON LIVES THERE!” 

Frisk slowly nodded, before remembering Papyrus couldn’t actually see their nods. “Right.” 

They had to admit. Papyrus was getting them through the Underground at far faster than their usual pace. Similar to how his only volume seemed to be ‘loud’, his only speed seemed to be ‘fast’. 

They began walking down a dark maze, lit by the glowing cyan grass, and occasional mushrooms and echo flowers. Papyrus crouched down one of the mushrooms, eying it suspiciously. 

“ U͖̭͖̻̱̳͂̏ͣ̈́ͥ̇N̪͕̣̞̠̝ͅD̩̲̤̠͍̯Ẏ̥̩̹̳̌ͬ͒̓̐ͅN͓̤̯͎̫͒ͯͣ̂ͯ̅͗Ḛͨ͋ͧͦ̾̅ͦ TOLD ME NOT TO EAT THE MUSHROOMS… IF I DID EAT THEM, DO YOU THINK I’D BE ABLE TO MAKE MY BONES GLOW?” 

“Don’think m’shrooms work like that,” Frisk replied. “Some’re poisonous.” 

Papyrus sighed, moving on. The next chamber was… dark, totally dark. Eventually though, they did find a single echo flower. Papyrus crouched down near it, pushing it with his gloved hand. 

_They’re coming!_

_They’re here!_

_Behind y--_

The human turned around. 

That’s where U̦̻͚͙ͧ̄ͨ̽̇͛N̠͔͕͌͒̉D͉̋Ẏ̞̩̰̲͇̮̍́ͅN̥̮̝͓͓̘̦ͯ̉̽E͇͗̀͌̾̒ͤ̚ was. 

“U̦̻͚͙ͧ̄ͨ̽̇͛N̠͔͕͌͒̉D͉̋Ẏ̞̩̰̲͇̮̍́ͅN̥̮̝͓͓̘̦ͯ̉̽E͇͗̀͌̾̒ͤ̚” Papyrus exclaimed. “YOU DON’T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THE HUMAN! AS YOU CAN SEE, I HAVE THEM QUITE SECURELY CAPTURED! WITH MY THOROUGH CUNNING AND FIENDISH PUZZLES!” 

Frisk remembered something. 

On the bridge. Papyrus had been lecturing them and… And Asriel, something about traps on the bridge, turning the traps on. He hadn’t responded to Asriel’s attempts to conversation. He hadn’t responded at all. Not until the battle… 

...Would Ṵ̖͎͙̹̐ͪ̏̌n̝̮̥̗d̖̤̜ͬ͌̔̈́̔ͤy̞̮ͯ̄̀̃ͤ̅n͓̤͉̝͇͚̳̊ẹ̮̼̼̤̌͗ react the same way? 

“M’sorry, P’pyrus,” Frisk told him. 

“HUMAN? WHAT ARE YOU--” 

Frisk leaped off of Papyrus’ shoulders, dashing past Ṵ̖͎͙̹̐ͪ̏̌n̝̮̥̗d̖̤̜ͬ͌̔̈́̔ͤy̞̮ͯ̄̀̃ͤ̅n͓̤͉̝͇͚̳̊ẹ̮̼̼̤̌͗ and away. 

Ṵ̖͎͙̹̐ͪ̏̌n̝̮̥̗d̖̤̜ͬ͌̔̈́̔ͤy̞̮ͯ̄̀̃ͤ̅n͓̤͉̝͇͚̳̊ẹ̮̼̼̤̌͗ and Papyrus were _friends._ There was no way Papyrus would move out of the way. No way he’d fight Ṵ̖͎͙̹̐ͪ̏̌n̝̮̥̗d̖̤̜ͬ͌̔̈́̔ͤy̞̮ͯ̄̀̃ͤ̅n͓̤͉̝͇͚̳̊ẹ̮̼̼̤̌͗, no way Frisk would know how to make her remember herself like Asriel could. No way that Ṵ̖͎͙̹̐ͪ̏̌n̝̮̥̗d̖̤̜ͬ͌̔̈́̔ͤy̞̮ͯ̄̀̃ͤ̅n͓̤͉̝͇͚̳̊ẹ̮̼̼̤̌͗ would ever veer off the ‘script’. 

_Script._

As they ran, Frisk felt a shudder travel up their spine. 

This was all familiar. Why was that? Why did they almost recall some things, but not others? As though experiences and lifetimes danced on the tip of their tongue, but they couldn’t quite spit them out. 

What was this going on…? 

They weren’t paying attention. They didn’t register they were on a bridge, nor who was in their way until they were almost on top of him. 

_Asriel!?_

He only noticed them when they very nearly collided, when Frisk tried to duck to the side at the very last minute only to skid off the side of the narrow, narrow bridge.


	17. 3.1 Pacifist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally the Paci-Runner gets some damn character development and I can stop writing them like an apathetic emotionless weirdo.

**Triad  
Arc 3: Waterfall   
Part 1**  
 _Pacifist_

The human quietly but quickly walked through the tunnels. 

They noticed… a small sentry station. With snow somehow on the roof. And that short skeleton reclining on the chair in it. 

They stared at him for several seconds. He grinned at them. “what? haven’t you seen a guy work two jobs before?” His eyes lit up. “fortunately, two jobs mean twice as many legally-required breaks. i’m going to grillby’s. wanna come?” 

The human shook their head, and continued walking. 

“...alrighty then.” 

To Sans, the human was… odd. He still had that feeling he should be wary around them, however they had yet to actually kill anyone, or do anything suspicious other than ignore every monster who did not actively fight them. 

In truth, they seemed less malevolent and more indifferent. 

Though sometimes… it seemed less like they were truly indifferent and more like they wanted to _convince_ everyone that they were indifferent… 

...Perhaps not just everyone, but also themself? 

Nevertheless. They hadn’t given Sans a reason to act yet, so he wouldn’t. 

The human came across a waterfall, spotting rocks cascading down along with the water from above. They stepped into the water, and let out a short sigh when they saw it only came to their knees. They quickly jogged through the river, keeping a careful eye on the rocks to ensure that one did not fall on them. 

The human entered a very gloomy area of the tunnels. While crossing through a particularly wild patch of grass, the feeling of being watched halted them, chills and shudders danced up and down their spine. They slowly turned, and identified… someone. 

Someone on the top of a ledge, in heavy metallic armor. Partially in shadow. Watching them. 

An imposing knight. 

The human felt their heartbeat speed up. They slowly covered their mouth, trying to quiet their rapid breathing. 

A familiar figure entered. That tall skeleton. 

“H… HI, UNDYNE! I’M HERE FOR MY DAILY REPORT… UH, REGARDING THAT HUMAN I CALLED YOU ABOUT EARLIER… HUH? DID I FIGHT THEM? Y-YES! OF COURSE I DID! I FOUGHT THEM VALIANTLY! ...WHAT? DID I CAPTURE THEM…? W-WELL… NO. I TRIED VERY HARD, BUT IN THE END… I FAILED. ...W-WHAT? YOU’RE GOING TO TAKE THE HUMAN’S SOUL YOURSELF… BUT UNDYNE, YOU DON’T H-HAVE TO DESTROY THEM! YOU SEE-- YOU SEE…” 

The knight turned towards the skeleton, effectively cutting him off. 

“...I UNDERSTAND,” the skeleton sighed. “I’LL HELP YOU IN ANY WAY I CAN.” He quickly left. 

The human slowly let out a pent up breath. The knight’s head snapped to attention, zeroing in on the patch of grass in which the human hid. 

The knight held their left hand up, a shining cyan spear coalescing around it. 

A long moment slid past. The knight glanced off into the distance, after Papyrus. 

Finally the knight thrust their spear into the ground and it vanished into shimmering sparks. They backed up and faded into the gloomy shadows. 

The human decided that they could most certainly admire someone who managed to hold a conversation without speaking a single audible word. 

The feelings they were feeling right now… Upon seeing someone terrifying and menacing. Someone silent and imposing. Someone who radiated power. Fear? 

...No. 

They thought that the knight was _really unspeakably unbelievably COOL._

They were split by two opposing feelings. The desire to stay alive, and the desire to attempt to see that really cool knight again. 

They stepped out of the grass, only for a small yellow reptilian child to dash out after them and immediately begin bouncing up and down excitedly. 

“Yo… Did ya see the way she was starin’ at ya…?” the monster kid asked. “That… was AWESOME!” 

The human agreed. 

This Monster Kid had good tastes. 

“I’m SOOOOOO jealous!” Monster Kid huffed. “What’d ya do ta get her attention?” 

The human told Monster Kid if he came with them he’d be sure to get the knight’s attention, too. 

Monster Kid gaped. “Y-ya really think so!?” He beamed. “L-let’s go then!” 

The human nodded. 

Then they remembered. They couldn’t get distracted, couldn’t stop, couldn’t get sidetracked. 

They had a goal to accomplish. They needed to see it through. 

…

…

...They didn’t have to get sidetracked. 

They didn’t have to waste time. The knight would be looking for them. The human doubted that they could simply leave Waterfall without seeing the knight again at least one more time. 

That should be enough to satisfy Monster Kid, and themself. 

Having a frie-- someone to walk with and talk with… It filled them with determination. 

They could feel something tightening in their chest. They ignored it, and began walking again. Monster Kid bounded ahead, and the human followed after him, to find him waiting by a river, a bud of some kind dangling precariously from his mouth. 

The human quirked an eye at the sight. 

Monster Kid spat the bud into the water. It drifted for a few moments, before taking root and blooming, its petals spreading and stiffening. “Yo, it’s real annoying how the Bridge Seeds keep getting swept away! I mean I like puzzles as much as the next monster, but dude, it gets kinda boring right?” 

The human nodded, understandably. Monster Kid grabbed a second bud, while the human grabbed a third. Soon enough, a bridge had been formed, which the two children crossed. 

...Before coming across another room with a similar puzzle. With two beings doing it at once, however, and with Monster Kid already knowing the solution, it was solved rather quickly though. 

Before they could exit the room, however, the ringing of a phone began to echo through the caverns. Monster Kid jumped slightly as the human answered it, before scooting in close to them to listen in. 

“HELLO!” It was that taller skeleton, Pa--...The taller skeleton. The human inquired how he had gotten their number. “IT WAS EASY!!! I JUST DIALED EVERY NUMBER SEQUENTIALLY UNTIL I GO YOURS!!! NYEH HEH HEH!!” 

The human had to admit that he was persistent. 

“SO… WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?” 

Monster Kid raised an eyebrow. 

The human made a request that the skeleton repeat that. They were fairly certain that they had not heard what he had said. 

“WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?” 

Monster Kid snorted with laughter. 

The human ignored that, and considered hanging up. 

“I’M… ASKING FOR A FRIEND. SHE THOUGHT SHE SAW YOU WEARING A STRIPED SWEATER. IS THAT TRUE?” 

The human told the skeleton that they were wearing clothes. 

“BUT… THAT DOESN’T ANSWER MY QUESTION!?” 

The human told him that it did. 

“...OKAY! GOT IT! HAVE A NICE DAY!” 

There was a click as the skeleton hung up. 

They entered another small passage. A plaque on the wall declared it to be the ‘Wishing Room’. Scattered throughout it were beautiful luminescent flowers, petals and stems softly radiating cyan blue light. The petals seemed to grow in a way that created a cup. It bathed the entire area in an eerie and haunting light. The human felt a genuine smile creeping up on their face… 

Monster Kid looked around. “Oh, this place!” He grinned. “I like it here. Monsters share their wishes, and it… Not sure how to describe it, but dude, it’s like _so encouraging_ seeing what drives us all! The hopes and dreams of the Underground…” 

The human approached one luminescent bloom, and nudged at it with their shoe. The echo flower began to sway back and forth, sounds that had once been captured within it exiting as if pushed out by the motion. The words were discernible, but the voice that had spoken them was long since been warped and rendered unrecognizable. It might as well have been the echo flower itself speaking. 

_A long time ago, monsters would whisper their wishes to the stars in the sky… If you hoped with all your heart, your wish would come true. Now, all we have are these sparkling stones on the ceiling…_

The rocking movement ceased, and the flower went silent. 

Monster Kid skipped over to another flower, a little farther along the corridor. “This one’s one of my favorites!” he hollered, before kicking it. 

_Thousands of people wishing together can’t be wrong! The king will prove that._

It fell silent. 

“Undyne’s always talking about how there’s power in wishes and beliefs and intention! That’s how humans are so strong!” Monster Kid said. “Humans use determination to force the world to match their desires! She’s going ta use her determination ta do the same thing, and when the King gets the Souls we need, so is he!” 

The human stared at Monster Kid. They moved over towards two other echo flowers. 

_C’mon, sis! Make a wish!_

_I wish my sister and I will see the real stars someday…_

The human contemplated the echo flowers. Monster Kid dashed down to look at the final one in the room, while the human began to make their way towards the next chamber. The echo flowers had reminded them of their own dream… 

They had a goal. They… didn’t mind Monster Kid. But they couldn’t let him deter them. 

The next corridor. Lit by the eerie blue light of the starlike shards in the walls and ceiling were a series of ancient metal plaques… 

The human drew closer to one, squinting as they read it. 

“The War of Humans and Monsters.” 

Something in their chest tightened. Their eyes drifted to the next plaque. 

“Why did the humans attack? Indeed, it seemed that they had nothing to fear. Humans are unbelievably strong. Indeed, it would take the Soul of nearly every monster just to equal the power of a human Soul.” 

They felt sick… They weren’t sure why they were still reading. 

“But humans have one weakness. Ironically, it is the strength of their Soul. Its power allows it to persist outside the human body, even after death.” 

They knew all this. 

“If a monster defeats a human, they can take its Soul. A monster with a human Soul… a horrible beast with unfathomable power.” 

… 

The last plaque. Most wouldn’t notice it unless they looked closer, but it was newer than the others. They stared at the familiar carving upon it with horrified fascination until they felt their stomach lurch. 

They made it to the edge of the dock they were standing on, before they started dry heaving. It didn’t take very long for Monster Kid to catch up with them. 

“Yo, you alright?” he asked. 

The human tried to dismiss him. 

“I-if you need help, I think Old Man Gerson’s not too far of--” 

The human told Monster Kid they were _fine._ They just wanted to be alone right now. 

“...But you’ll miss seeing Undy--” 

Please. Go. _Away._

Monster Kid didn’t speak again, but the human did hear his retreating footsteps. They weren’t all that concerned at the moment, they were sick to their stomach. 

They wanted to pry those stupid plaques off the wall. 

When they felt better, the human stood up, and tried to put Monster Kid out of their mind. He was just a distraction, after all… 

Just a silly… distraction… 

They quickly made their way into the next corridor of the caverns. It was very dark and gloomy, difficult to see. There was still a dock underneath their feet, echoes of lapping water below. They walked forwards, fixing their gaze on the darkness ahead of them-- 

Suddenly there was a blazing cyan spear shaft quivering inches from their nose, causing them to instinctively stop and back up. 

They didn’t need to look to know Undyne was here, and out for blood. 

Coolness aside, they were certain she would not hesitate to kill them. They were suddenly thankful that Monster Kid was not there. 

The human began to run, a spray of cyan spears chasing them. 

Fortunately, they were very good at dodging. 

Right, skid left, jump, land and duck. Speed up, run faster, _stop._

They misjudged their balance, tripped, and thrust out their arms. They caught themself while falling, but a spear still impaled their left wrist. 

They got up, shoved their arm into their sweater, and kept running. 

They tried to ignore the pain in their wrist. Another trio of spears got too close to them, and they instinctively held up their arm to block them. One nailed their left elbow. 

They kept running. 

Their stamina was running low… They needed to end this chase, quickly. 

They briefly entertained the idea of jumping off the dock and hiding underwater. They could hold their breath for a surprisingly long time, for being a human. 

But just then, they saw a patch of grass before them, within reach. They put on a burst of speed, practically pouncing on it, and then collapsed within it. They covered their nose and mouth with their good hand in an attempt to mask their gasps for air. 

They listened closely for any sort of sound. They didn’t have to listen hard for the sound of heavy boots smashing the tall grass, approaching them. 

They held their breath and bit their tongue. 

They couldn’t look, so they shut their eyes. 

…

The boots stomped away. 

What? 

The human cautiously crawled out of the grass… Only for Monster Kid to trip over them. 

First that skeleton. Now this child. It must be some kind of running gag. 

Monster Kid seemed surprised at seeing the human again. “Yo! You’re…” His surprise shifted to worry when he saw the human’s arm. “...Do ya--you… want me ta go away again?” He sighed. “The other kids say I’m too… annoying. And too obsessed. I… Dude, I get it if you want me ta go, I--” 

The human told him they did not think that he was annoying. They had just been upset at the time. 

“...You don’t look much better now.” 

They had tripped. They felt better. They asked if he had seen Undyne. 

Monster Kid’s face lit up, and he began to excitedly paddle his feet. “It was so amazing! Undyne, she just reached right inta the grass, and she TOUCHED ME!! I’m never washing my face again!” He tilted his head slightly. “Ya were in the grass too, right? Just think, if ya had been a little bit closer ta me…” A grin split his face. “Man, are ya unlucky! But don’t worry, yo, I’m _sure_ we’ll see her again if we keep going!” 

The human nodded. If they kept going together, they were sure seeing her was an inevitability. 

The human and Monster Kid moved on to the next corridor. 

...A familiar skeleton was in the next chamber, a telescope next to him. 

The skeleton grinned at the two children. “i’m thinking of getting into the telescope business. it’s normally 50000G to u--” 

The human began walking away. 

“Hey-- where’re ya going?” Monster Kid called after them. 

The human stopped, and looked back. 

“..Yo, I’m not sure where you’re from… but around here it’s not that nice ta walk away from people talking to ya!” He responded, looking slightly confused. 

The human informed Monster Kid that they definitely didn’t have that much money. So there wasn’t really a point to sticking around. 

“well, i got some good news then, kiddo,” the skeleton informed them. “‘cause i was just about to tell you that since I know ya, you can use it for free.” 

The human informed the skeleton in response that they could see the stars perfectly fine from the ground. It wasn’t like they were hundreds of lightyears away like on the surface. They were at best a couple dozen feet up. 

Monster Kid frowned. “Aw. I wanted ta see them.” 

“hey, what’s your name?” the skeleton asked. 

“and i’m sans, sans the skeleton. welp, _now_ we know eachother. wanna take a look through this telescope?” 

Monster Kid’s eyes lit up, and he very nearly pushed S-- the skeleton to the side to peer through it. 

“Wh--!? It’s all red?” Monster Kid stepped back from the telescope. “I couldn’t see anything!” There was a red spot around one of his eyes. 

The skeleton chuckled. “here, kid. have a refund.” 

Monster Kid thought for a moment, before looking mildly insulted. “...C’mon, dude, let’s go!” 

The two kids then left. They entered a marsh. The mud was black, and the water winding around the muddy islets was almost luminescent, a bright cyan. 

The human walked over to one of the echo flowers blooming nearby, and nudged it. 

_So? Don’t you have any wishes to make?_

_...Hmm, just one, but… It’s kind of stupid._

The kinds began walking again. Only, for thirty seconds later, a phone to begin ringing. The human picked it up. 

“HELLO! THIS IS PAPYRUS!!!” 

The human moved their ear a good distance from the speaker. 

“REMEMBER WHEN I ASKED YOU ABOUT CLOTHES? WELL, THE FRIEND WHO WANTED TO KNOW… HER OPINION OF YOU IS VERY… MURDERY.” 

The human deflated ever so slightly. 

Monster Kid frowned at the human. 

“BUT I BET YOU KNEW THAT ALREADY! AND BECAUSE YOU KNEW THAT, I TOLD HER WHAT YOU WERE WEARING! CLOTHES! BECAUSE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, DID SOME FAST THINKING AND REALIZED! CLOTHES CAN LOOK LIKE A LOT OF THINGS! SO JUST BECAUSE SHE SEES SOMEONE WEARING CLOTHES SHE MIGHT REALIZE IT DOESN’T MEAN IT’S YOU! NYEH HEH HEH!” 

The skeleton hung up. 

The human thought briefly. 

“...Yo, who do ya think that friend he was talking about is?” Monster Kid asked. “Because… you’re my friend, and I don’t think people murdering my friends is cool.” 

The human blinked. Then said they didn’t know. 

Monster Kid puffed up his chest. “Well! If we meet them, I’ll show them just what I think about people not liking my friends!” 

The human nodded, and continued on. Soon they came across another echo flower. 

_Don’t say that! Come on, I promise I won’t laugh!_

The two kids walked onwards. Only a few moments later they saw one of the ancient plaques. 

The human immediately sped up. 

“Hey-- what’s wrong?” 

The human explained that the plaques made them uncomfortable. 

Monster Kid looked confused. “Well… Why? It’s just ancient history, dude. All that stuff happened a long time ago.” 

...It didn’t quite feel like that to the human. 

Monster Kid frowned. But did not say anything more on the subject. 

The next area they came to… Was a passageway of muddy, marshy land blocked off on both sides by water. A pale tentacle rose up from the water. 

Monster Kid’s eyes widened. “D-dude… Do ya think we can move a bit faster here?” 

The human was unsure why, however they still did so. 

As the two kids continued walking, another tentacle rose up. 

The human asked if some kind of kraken monster was about to attack them or something. 

Monster Kid glanced away, nervously. “Ummm… Not… not quite…” 

The tentacles sank back beneath the murky depths… And something different arose from the dark waters, something that made the human begin to understand why Monster Kid wished to move on from here. 

“Hey… there… noticed you were… here…” the… _thing_ seemed to purr, before suddenly shouting out gleefully “I’m Onionsan! Onionsan, y’hear!” 

Nope. 

The human grabbed Monster Kid’s sweater and began running. 

The thing easily seemed to keep up pace with them, carrying on with its one-sided conversation. Fortunately, the human was very, very skilled at zoning out. 

Just a few minutes later the thing seemed to give up and sink back into the murky depths. The two kids stopped, and caught their breath. Monster Kid grinned in relief. “Th-that wasn’t… As bad as it could’ve been!” 

In the next room, there were more of the plaques. The human immediately positioned themself so Monster Kid was between them and the plaques. 

“...I know that history class can be boring at school, I’ve hoped for Undyne ta come ta school and beat up the teachers more than once ta make things more interesting… But, are you sure you’re alright?” he asked. 

The human paused a few seconds. 

They were alright. It was just that the plaques remind them of a few bad memories, that they didn’t wish to be reminded of. 

But it was okay. He was right. It was old history. 

Monster Kid glanced at the human, then the plaques, then the human. “You…” He frowned. “...Nothing.” 

The human asked what was on his mind. Monster Kid simply shook his head. 

In the next chamber, there was a statue. Water continuously dripped down onto it, and it had apparently been eroded by this for some time. The human frowned at the water, before rushing into the next room. 

Monster Kid was left behind. “Yo, what’re ya--!?” 

The human dashed back into the room, carrying an umbrella, and placed it on the statue. 

A music box began chiming, somewhere within it. 

The human closed their eyes, listening to the music. 

...It had been a while since they had heard it. 

“ _Whoah_. It does that?” 

The human explained it was a lullaby their sibling had used to like. 

Monster Kid grinned. “They’ve got a good taste in music.” 

The two walked back into the next room, the music box still echoing throughout the cavern. Monster Kid saw where the human had gotten the umbrella from-- an entire trash can full of them, a sign propped up next to it asking everyone to take one. 

The human immediately went towards the trash can, and took out a second umbrella. They explained that this was technically not taking more than the allotted one, because they had took one but Monster Kid had not. 

Monster Kid grinned. “Awesome! Let’s go!” 

An infinite amount of water seemed to cascade from high above. In certain locations, sheets of water poured from the leaking ceiling, while in others it was only mere drops, eternally dripping onto the grey-blue floor, forming puddles. All the water formed a relentless patter against the fabric of their umbrella. 

“...So what was your brother like?” Monster Kid asked. 

The human thought for a few moments. 

They explained how… Well. He hadn’t always been their brother. But they didn’t want to imagine it any other way. 

They’d really like to see him again. 

Monster Kid hummed in thought. “I have a sister… or had,” he said. “...Haven’t seen her in a while. So now my dad’s obsessed with my safety.” He scowled. “He doesn’t want me joining the Royal Guard or hanging around Undyne, because it’s ‘too dangerous’. So I need ta sneak out.” 

The human remarked that their parents used to be overprotective… But right now they’re technically allowed to go wherever they want. 

Monster Kid grinned again. “Yo, you’re lucky! Wish I had that freedom.” 

The human informed him he may not like what he has to do to get it. 

They stepped out into a massive area of the cavern. In the distance was visible a large conglomerate of buildings, reminiscent of a castle. Glimmering crystalline shards twinkled like stars at night, framing it. Monster Kid rushed around and stopped, staring at it. 

The human commented that they used to live there. 

“Oh, in New Home?” Monster Kid asked. “Sweet! The view of it from here’s my favorite in Waterfall…” 

The human agreed it looked nice from here. 

They continued onwards, back into an area where the cavern narrowed and became smaller, until their progress was impeded by a ledge. The human placed the umbrella back in a garbage can similar to the one it had come from originally, then turned to examine the ledge. 

“...Yo… I’ve got an idea!” Monster Kid spoke. “Climb onto my shoulders! Don’t worry about me. I’ll find a way, I always do!” 

The human did so. They watched Monster Kid dash off, back the way they had come. 

The human turned back around, facing the path ahead. 

The path soon led onto another bridge. Unlike the last one, where there was water to either side, the human saw nothing but a dark abyss below… 

The human felt their heartbeat increase. They began moving faster, try to squish their emotions down beneath detachment again. 

Unfortunately for them, it was too late. They had opened up their Soul again to another… Connected with a friend. And going back would be very difficult. 

They started crossing the bridge, slowly, hesitantly… Only for a small cyan puddle of light to form on the wooden boards. 

And then there were two. 

Three. 

Eleven. 

Spears suddenly exploded from the bridge, narrowly missing the human. 

The moment that the spears faded the human was off and running, heart bursting in their chest like it was trying to break out and fly away. 

It was a maze of bridges. Narrow, too narrow. They couldn’t run too fast or they’d fall off. They couldn’t run too slow, or the magical spears would impale them.

Dead end. Backtrack. Dodge. 

Their breath was coming too fast. They were hyperventilating. 

They tripped, and dug their fingertips into the boards of the bridge, saving themselves from careening off into the inky blackness. 

A split second later, a spear rocketed up through their shoulder like a pointy geyser. The human nearly let out an injured yelp, but bit back down on it. They slowly stood up, before letting out a pained moan when another spear shot through their foot. 

They needed to re-evaluate their list of people they found ‘cool’. 

They began to run again, but they were slowing. They couldn’t keep this up. They were going to be caught soon. 

They felt lost. They couldn’t tell which of the bridges led to the end of this terrifying bridge complex. Who even built bridges this way? 

They kept running, their Soul giving an excited flutter once they were racing across a large platformlike section of the bridge, the area after that being a single path with no other bridges branching off of it. Could this be it? Could the labyrinth of bridges finally be approaching an en-- 

Nope. Yet another dead end. 

They whirled around, intending to make a made dash back to the platform. However before they got five feet the boards began to tremble from the vibrations of something heavy approaching. The human froze. 

From the surrounding darkness, the knight strode into the human’s field of vision. 

_Undyne._

The human sucked in a breath, and began racing towards her as fast as they could, trying to use their speed and small size to get past her-- 

A barricade of spears materialized in front of them. They stopped short of crashing into them, only for the pain in their foot to flare up. They flailed their arms, trying to maintain their balance, before falling back into the darkness. 

The darkness. 

They passed out. 

_..._

_It sounds like it came from over here…_

_Oh! You’ve fallen down, haven’t you…_

_Are you okay?_

_Here, get up…_

_…_

_Chara, huh?_

_That’s a nice name._

_My name is--_

...

_...As… ri… el…?_

The human opened their eyes, sitting up. They looked around. 

...There was a waterfall filled with murky, muddy looking water to their left. The floor was covered entirely by about six inches or so of water, and yet the water was muddy and murky enough to render the ground unable to be seen at all. Soggy wooden boards occasionally rose up from the waters, like a half-constructed bridge. 

The human seemed to be lying on… golden flowers. They felt a wave of deja vu wash over them. 

When they looked to their right, they almost expected to see him… 

...Instead, they were alone. 

They looked down at the bed of golden flowers. They felt… loneliness, welling up in their Soul. 

...That was okay. They were almost to New Home. They just… just had to stay Determined, and continue on for a little while longer. 

They got up, wading through the filthy water. Occasionally, piles of garbage would form islands amidst the muck. 

As they proceeded, the water soaked into their sneakers and socks, causing the cloth to cling to their calves. It was chilling their skin. They wanted to go a bit faster, so they could avoid catching a cold… But their foot was still paining them, and they were exhausted after all that running, and falling from a great height… 

They were basically stuck at a rather slow speed for now. 

They came across a cooler full of Astronaut Food. Normally they frowned upon the stuff… But, well, they hadn’t eaten in a few hours, so they sifted through the packages for a few seconds. 

...No chocolate flavored ones. 

Such a pity. 

Astronaut Food wasn’t even a real food anyways. If there was no chocolate flavor, then there was absolutely no redeeming factor and no reason to eat it. 

They sloshed onwards, focusing on getting out of this filthy dump. 

An orange dummy with an enraged expression suddenly leaped in front of them. That was… unexpected. 

“Hahaha…” the dummy cackled. “It’s just like you to run away. I am a ghost that lives inside a dummy. My cousin used to live inside a dummy, too. Until… YOU CAME ALONG!” 

The human put their hands over their ears. They were not really in the mood for this at the moment. 

“When you talked to them, you thought they would be in for a nice chat… But the things you SAID…! Horrible. Shocking! UNBELIEVABLE!” 

...Oh. Was this dummy talking about the one they had talked to with M-- T-- 

...Mom? 

...Probably. 

...They tried to remember what, exactly, they had said. They were fairly certain that all they had said was ‘Greetings’. To absolutely no response. 

“It spooked them right out of their dummy!” 

...The human was beginning to wonder how reliable of a source of information this particular dummy was. 

“HUMAN! I’ll scare you Soul out of your body!” 

They were also pretty sure that that wasn’t how it worked. 

Mad Dummy darkened from orange to red, before the world darkened and their Soul reappeared. 

“Futile. Futile. FUTILE!” Mad Dummy hissed, What appeared to be miniature dummies began to appear around the human, and fired… cotton balls? The human sloshed through the water, dodging from side to side. Fortunately, they weren’t going _too_ fast… yet. 

While dodging to the left, some cotton balls that had come at them from behind sailed past them and whacked Mad Dummy, instead. 

Mad Dummy began hopping about, shrieking. “OWWWWW, you DUMMIES!! Watch where you’re aiming your magic attacks!” 

...Hm. 

The human didn’t want to actually kill any monsters… However they were also really not in the mood or physical condition to be fighting and wanted to get this over with. 

Mad Dummy suddenly glared at the human. “...Hey! You! Forget I said anything about magic!!” A twisted grin split its face. “I’ll defeat you, and take your Soul!” 

As the mini dummies began to reappear around them, the human waded through the filthy water to get closer to Mad Dummy. A few more stray cotton balls smacked into its head again. The larger dummy hissed with rage and exasperation, and began leaping about in an effort to dodge any more stray cotton balls. As it landed each time, water splashed and the human became progressively more and more drenched. 

No one was happy with this. 

“I’ll stand in the window of a fancy story!” Mad Dummy hissed. 

The human had to pause for a few seconds to process that statement, when two cotton balls smacked into their left wrist and back. They quickly ducked down immersing their injured hand in the filthy but cooling water and allowing the other cotton balls to hit the Mad Dummy. 

Mad Dummy fidgeted with angry energy. “THEN EVERYTHING I WANT WILL BE MINE!” 

The human stood up, whipping out their sodden arm and sleeve from the water and splashing the cotton balls flying towards them with water. Several flopped into the liquid on the ground and promptly dissipated. 

“Huh? Yeah, I guess that’ll avenge my cousin.” 

The human decided that Mad Dummy was not only mad in the angry sense, but also in the insane sense. 

Its furious leaping became even more energetic and erratic, bouncing about all over the garbage-strewn cavern. Cotton balls flew absolutely everywhere. In a desperate attempt to escape unscathed, the human took a deep breath and ducked underwater.

It was futile. A spray of cotton balls exploded across their back. 

This wasn’t helping, and the human couldn’t really hold their breath for very long anyways. They burst out from the water, covering their ears to blot out Mad Dummy’s echoing screams and gibberish. 

It was practically a tornado of cotton at this point. The human made an attempt to stagger away from the rampaging dummy. 

At this point it was just shrieking ‘foolish’ over and over again. 

The human was starting to regret being picking about that Astronaut Food. 

Finally, it splashed down near the human and contracted in towards itself, its face scrunched up in a portrait of wrath. “HEY GUYS!” it howled. The mini dummies popped up out of the water in a circle around their leader and the human. Mad Dummy snarled ferally at them. “Dummies. Dummies! DUMMIES! Remember how I said NOT to shoot at me!? Well…” The cloth monster began flailing and writhing wildly, the human lifting up their arms to try and block the water being splashed at them now. “FAILURES! YOU’RE FIRED! YOU’RE ALL BEING REPLACED!!!” 

The mini dummies slowly and without comment sank back into the water, vanishing completely. As they did so, Mad Dummy began trembling and cackling maniacally. “Now you’ll see my true power: relying on people that aren’t garbage!” it taunted the human between bouts of deranged laughter. 

The human backed up as a malevolent mechanical whirring echoed about the room, rising steadily in volume. 

“DUMMY BOTS! MAGIC MISSILE!” 

Several robotic mini dummies popped up around the human, before transforming into small rockets and closing in on the human. The human moved as quickly as they could through the water, trying to dodge, only for the rockets to chase them. 

The human’s breathing hitched, and instinct took over. They _jumped_ to Mad Dummy, grabbed the monster, and whirled around. They knew for a fact it was impossible for a monster to be killed by its own magic, so this should be alright. 

Mad Dummy twitched and twisted and writhed to escape their grip, even going so far as to bite their hands, but they only let go when the dummy bots were too close for it to manage to dodge. They frantically splashed away from it as he screamed. They could not tell if it was from agony or anger or both. “DUMMY BOTS! YOU ARE THE ABSOLUTE WORST!!!” 

Mad Dummy gave the human a death glare, spasming and ranting. “Who cares. Who cares! WHO CARES!? I DON’T NEED FRIENDS!!!” Mad Dummy suddenly held up a glinting blade. “I’VE GOT KNIVES!!!” 

Mad Dummy lunged at the human, stabbing downwards. 

The human kicked Mad Dummy, sending it falling backwards into the water and snatched up his knife, smiling. 

It was definitely not their own. However they could certainly work with this. 

They raised up the knife, glaring at Mad Dummy, daring him to attack again as they prepared to deflect. They were not in any shape at all to continue fighting… However, they felt a little energy return. 

Mad Dummy stared blankly at them. “I’m… out of knives…” 

The human felt their Soul flutter. Maybe this battle was finally nearing an end! 

Mad Dummy immediately began flailing and spasming again. “BUT IT DOESN’T MATTER!!! YOU CAN’T HURT ME AND I CAN’T HURT YOU! YOU’LL BE STUCK FIGHTING ME…” It paused, a smirk visible upon its face. “Forever.” It began twitching and fidgeting again. “Forever!” It was convulsing once more. “FOREVER!!!” It dissolved into a fit of even more raucous and deranged laughter. 

The human groaned, gripping tightly to their new knife with one hand and covering an ear with another. 

Suddenly, tear-shaped magic bullets began dripping down upon Mad Dummy from above. 

Mad Dummy paused, looking up with a combination of irritation and confusion writ upon its face. “Wh… What the heck is this!?” Its expression shifted to pain and frustration. “Ergh! Acid rain!? Oh, FORGET IT!!! I’m outta here!” 

The human collapsed back into the water in relief as Mad Dummy leaped away. 

A ghost drifted in. The human squinted at them. Did they know this monster? 

...Did they see them in the Ruins? 

“sorry, i interrupted you, didn’t i?” the ghost spoke in a low, hushed tone. “as soon as i came over, your friend immediately left… oh no, you guys looked like you were having fun…” 

The human was a bit too dazed and tired at the moment to respond. Their adrenaline from the fight had left them, and right now they were tired, in pain, sore, and shivering. 

“oh no… i just wanted to say hi… oh no…………………….” 

The ghost flickered, uncertainly. “well... i’m going to head home now…” The ghost looked over the human again, seeming to notice the bad shape they were in. “oh… umm… feel free to ‘come with’ if you want… but no pressure... i understand if you’re busy… it’s fine… n--” 

The human cut them off, telling them that they were not busy and were grateful. The ghost seemed surprised. “um... then… come by? it’s just up ahead…” And they floated off in that direction. 

The human slogged through the water for a few steps until they _finally_ set foot on dry ground once more. They quickly sat down, and removed their shoes, socks, and sweater. Under their sweater they found that they had on a grey t-shirt. 

They set to work pouring the water out that had entered their shoes, and trying trying to squeeze all the water they could out of their sweater and socks. Several minutes later, they decided they had gotten all the water out that they could. They slipped their feet back into their shoes, bundled their sweater and socks back up with their newfound knife tucked inside the bundle, and stood up, carrying that clothing and following the ghost. 

In the next chamber they saw the ghost had been waiting for them. “oh hey… my house is up here… in case you want to see… or in case… you don’t…” the ghost trailed off and began floating away. The human followed it. 

Up ahead, there were two houses. The human tried the doors on both, and found that the one on the right was locked. The one on the left was open. They entered to find a rather pathetic and austere looking house. The ghost had headphones on now, and was in the corner, peering at a computer. 

The human placed the bundle of clothes on the ground next to the door, and stepped further inside. The ghost seemed to notice them. “oh... you really came… sorry, i… wasn’t expecting that…” The ghost glanced around at the interior of the house. ...There were definitely spiderwebs in one corner. “...it’s not much, but make yourself at home…” 

The human nodded, slipping out of their shoes, before locking eyes with something. 

_A refrigerator._

They really needed food. 

They immediately strode across the creaking wooden boards to the fridge, gripping at the handle. 

“oh… are you hungry… i can get you something to eat…” 

The human nodded, taking a few steps back as the ghost solemnly hovered towards the fridge. The ghost then turned back to the human, clutching something. It was difficult to tell how they managed this, as the ghost had no visible limbs. 

“this is a ghost sandwich…” they intoned. “Do you want to try it…” 

The human nodded again, reaching for the sandwich. The ghost handed it to the… Only for the sandwich to phase through their hands, fall to the floor, and phase right through the floorboards. 

The human felt their stomach groan in disappointment. 

“oh... nevermind…” the ghost whispered, fading slightly. The human thought for a moment they would phase through the floorboards as well. 

An awkward moment passed. The human felt a wave of dizziness pass over them, and they swayed on their feet. The ghost seemed to notice this. “after a great meal i like to lie on the ground and feel like garbage… it’s a family tradition…” the ghost paused, as if they were considering something. Then, they cautiously asked: “do you want… to join me...”

The human thought over the offer, and nodded their head. As they did so, the room spun slightly. 

“okay... follow my lead…” the ghost instructed, drifting to the center of the bare floor. The human retrieved their bundled-up sweater and slowly followed them, lowering themself to the floor as the ghost hovered parallel to it. The human took out the knife, noting the blade had gotten stuck within a solitary sock, effectively sheathing it. They clutched the handle of the knife tightly, and laid their head down on the sweater, using it as a pillow. Sleep took them quickly. 

...

They dreamed they were in their flowerbed once more. Hundreds of golden flowers, each recognizable as belonging to the same species but with minute yet unique differences. The human could feel wings on their back. They reached up to their chest, and gripped the locket dangling there. 

They had a knife, even if it was not their own. An acceptable substitute. But unfortunately, there was no temporary replacement for the locket. 

A flicker of distress twitched across their mind, manifesting in the dream in the form of a breeze that ruffled the petals of the golden flower. The human squinted with annoyance, glancing in the direction of the breeze. They quickly found the source, and it was just what they expected. 

A small Soul, brightly shining and fluttering with fear and distress. 

The human fell upon it, closing their hands around it. 

They told it to go back to sleep. 

_What is happening?_

_Where am I?_

_I want to go home._

The human told the Soul that is was distracting them, making things more difficult. They could fix everything, but not with the Soul getting in their way. 

_But who are you?_

They were better than the Soul. The Soul was a damn dirty hypocrite and the human was not. That was all that mattered. 

_I didn’t… It wasn’t my…_

Enough. The human squeezed their hands tightly around the Soul until the light signalling for help calmed down. Dark red, near black, liquid spattered the ground, fizzing and hissing. The human felt their hands start to sting. 

The human let out a sigh, allowing themself to drift into blissful unconsciousness. 

...

The human rolled over onto their side, stretching their limbs and back. They heard something pop. They felt somewhat better after sleeping, despite their now sore back. Their mind was certainly clearer and they were less dizzy, although the hunger was now manifesting as a continuous ache in their stomach. The slowly stood up, and they noticed the ghost in the corner on his computer. The ghost turned, noticing the human. 

“oh… you’re up…” the ghost observed. “you were asleep for a few hours… i didn’t want to wake you, in case you wanted to sleep more… maybe i should’ve, you might’ve had somewhere to go… sorry…” 

The human shook their head. It was alright. They needed the sleep. 

The ghost almost seemed to smile. “well… thank you. that was nice... thank you…” 

The human moved over to the bundle of clothing on the floor, checking it. It seemed that most of the water had dried while they had slept… Although it and their hair were both slightly damp now. They removed their knife from the sock, putting on the sweater, socks, and shoes once more, and clutching at the knife tightly. 

They bid the ghost farewell, and left. 

The human left the vicinity of the ghost’s house… And almost immediately after they left, they saw something that they desperately needed. 

_A shop._ That would definitely have food. They made a beeline in it… And squinted at the shopkeeper. An old turtle. 

...He seemed vaguely familiar, but they had no idea what his name was. 

“Whoah there! I’ve got some neat junk for sale,” the turtle said, a somewhat crazed smile on his face. 

The human demanded food. Preferably chocolate. Chocolate was their priority, however they would also take anything at this point. 

The turtle let out a loud laugh. “I’ve got some crab apples, 25 gold!” 

The human placed a small pile of gold on the counter, and requested as many crab apples as that would get them. For that, they were given four crab apples. 

The human grabbed the apples, stuffing three into their pockets and biting into the fourth. It tasted salty, and juice dribbled down their chin. 

While eating, they inquired about what the symbol behind him actually meant. They had seen it and heard its name before, but were unsure about what it was. 

“That emblem actually predates written history,” the turtle mused. “The original meaning has been lost to time… All we know is that the triangles symbolize us monsters below, and the winged circle symbolizes…” The turtle squinted, smirking. It seemed to be in a knowing fashion. “Somethin’ _else._ ” 

What? 

“Most people say it’s the ‘angel’, from the prophecy,” the turtle continued. 

Prophecy? 

“Oh yeah… The prophecy,” the turtle hummed. “Legend has it, an ‘angel’ who has seen the surface will descend from above and bring us freedom.” The knowing squint returned. “Lately, people have been taking a bleaker outlook… Callin' that winged circle the ‘Angel of Death’. A harbinger of destruction, waitin’ to ‘free us’ from this mortal realm.” 

The human felt something jerk in their chest, and flutter anxiously. They pushed it back down again, rather roughly. _Don’t you dare._

The human told the turtle that that was never going to happen. Not in this universe. 

The turtle threw back his head. “WAHAHAHA!” He refocused. “Well. It’s just a neat little image.” 

The human finished the first crabapple, dropping the core on the ground and taking out a second. Another question came to mind. 

The turtle’s eyebrows perked up. “Undyne? Yeah, she’s a local hero around here. Through grit and determination alone, she fought her way to the top of the Royal Guard.” The turtle paused, eying the human. “Actually, she just came through here asking about someone who looked just like you…” 

The human felt a chill go up their spine. 

“I’d watch your back, kid,” the turtle hummed. 

The human decided it might just be time to start moving again. They quickly walked out of the store, munching on their crab apples. 

“Be careful out there kid!” the turtle called after them. 

The human found that their path led into darkness once more. Flowing waterfalls intersected with the way ahead, and the human sighed slightly in annoyance as there was no way to proceed if they did not wade through them. 

And they had _just_ gotten their clothes dry. 

In the distance, just off the path they could see the soft cyan glow of echo flowers, wobbling gently back and forth, and filing the cavern with the soft murmur of whispers over the soft murmur of water. 

The path shrunk to a trail, winding through another marsh of rich black mud, the way they had to go lit by a dim, luminescent grass. 

They followed the path until it vanished, the grass clustered in a ring around a blue and white mushroom. They nudged the mushroom with their shoe, causing it to light up, and causing a second trail of grass to light up as well, illuminating how to proceed. 

This was how they advanced across the marsh, until light from the grass began to fade, and the darkness closed in around them. 

The reached out their hands, wandering blindly across the maze of the marsh, hoping they wouldn’t fall into an area where the mud would suck them in, or slip into a deep pool of water. 

Eventually they saw something, a cyan light. Not especially bright, but it was like a beacon in the blackness. The human carefully strode towards it. They tapped it, and words rustled out from the depths of its petals. 

_Behind you._

The human whirled around. A slight glint in the darkness, and a second brilliant cyan light illuminated the room, as well as the spear’s wielder. 

Undyne was here. 

She approached, slowly, spear at the ready. The human drew their knife, before realizing they were unsure what, exactly, they intended to do with it. 

They didn’t intend to kill or injure any monsters. 

However they were not going to die. 

There had to be a way to achieve both. 

An almost memory niggled at the back of their mind. Something… familiar. 

Their mind was racing so quickly they almost did not realize Undyne had begun to speak. 

“...Seven,” Undyne spoke, her voice a low and rough growl. One had to be listening closely to discern her words. It was unnerving and intimidating, giving the impression she was like a feral beast inches away from attacking. “Seven human Souls. With the power of seven human Souls, our king… King Asgore Dreemurr… will become a god…” Undyne paused. “With that power, Asgore can finally shatter the barrier.” The human could hear the smile and the admiration in her voice, the growl lessening somewhat. “He will finally take the surface back from humanity…” The growl returned, intensified with bitterness and anger. “And give them back the suffering and pain we have endured.” 

The knight pointed her spear at the them. “Understand, human? This is your only chance at redemption.” 

The human informed Undyne she was incorrect. They did not need redemption. They weren’t like the other stupid, hypocritical humans. 

“The fact that your species continues to exist is a crime,” Undyne retorted, annoyance at being interrupted creeping into her voice. “Surrender your Soul, or I will tear it from your body!” 

Neither event would occur. The human had several goals, that required a Soul to be in their possession. Giving it to Undyne would be counter-intuitive. 

Undyne prepared herself to charge the human. The human raised their knife, preparing to dodge. 

A familiar monster barrelled out of a patch of grass off to the side. “WAIT!” Monster Kid looked at both Undyne, and the human. His face lit up upon seeing them. “Dude! I’ve been looking all over for you! Sorry I couldn’t catch up earlier!” He glanced back at Undyne, before turning back to the human. “And Undyne’s right here too, yo! This is amazing! We get front row seats ta see her fight!” A massive grin split his face, as he glanced around again. A note of confusion crossed it. “...Yo… who’s she fighting…? Where’s the human?” 

The human explained in a hurried fashion that they may or may not, in fact, be the human. 

Monster Kid gaped at them. “...Dude!?” 

The human repeated their statement. 

“But… you…” 

Undyne apparently decided to take advantage of Monster Kid’s confusion by grabbing his sweater and dragging him along. He scrabbled to keep up, not seeming to realize who it was dragging him, in his state of shock. 

They managed to walk back down the path when Undyne and Monster Kid left, noticing a branching trail off of it that had previously somehow went unseen. They followed the broad trail of soft luminescent grass, and entered a rather beautiful area. 

Echo flowers blossomed everywhere in the dim passageway, while strange spheres of golden light drifted through the air. 

They thought about Monster Kid. 

_...hmm… if I say my wish… You promise you won’t laugh at me?_

He had genuinely thought they were a monster. Had seemed so… betrayed and shocked when they revealed otherwise. 

_Of course I won’t laugh!_

_He_ had never seen a human before, but was unsurprised when he found out, they remembered. 

Monster Kid had been eager to befriend them, as another monster. And yes, humans were very dangerous to monsters, and were nowhere near as good as monsters but… But… 

...They were happy others disliked humans. There were good reasons to. But now… 

_Someday, I’d like to climb this mountain we’re all buried under._

Having a friend had been nice. 

But Monster Kid hadn’t been anything like him. 

...Now they were lonely. 

_Standing under the sky, looking at the world all around…_

...Monster Kid had been betrayed by their revelation that they were human. But they had not intended to hurt him before they had told him so, and them revealing their species changed their intentions in no way, shape, or form. 

...Examining their feelings… 

_That’s my wish._

They were hurt by the idea that Monster Kid might think differently of them, now that he knew they were human. 

_Hey, you said you wouldn’t laugh at it!_

They felt… 

_Sorry, it’s just funny…_

They wanted to prove Undyne wrong. 

They wanted to prove Monster Kid wrong. 

_That’s my wish, too…_

They were going to break the Barrier. 

They were going to find Asriel. 

They noticed a plaque ahead of them. 

“However, there is a prophecy. The Angel... The One Who Has Seen the Surface… They will return. And the Underground will go empty.” 

...They had seen the surface. 

They had been gone and returned. 

...They decided that they still intended to empty the Underground. They just needed to figure out exactly how. 

They found that Determination was welling up in their Soul. 

The path took them next across a bridge. The bottom was far down, but visible, this time, and that gave the human some sense of relief. 

They heard a familiar voice echo out across the chasm. 

“Yo!” 

They turned to see Monster Kid. A wave of deja vu washed over them, accompanied by slight nausea. 

“Y… you’re really a human?” Monster Kid asked them, confusion and apprehension evident on his face. He hesitantly approached them. The aforementioned human frowned. 

They confirmed this statement. 

...Perhaps they should have said that before. 

...Perhaps they should reintroduce themself now. 

They smiled, trying to look reassuring. “Greetings,” they spoke. “My name is Chara.” 

“I-I’m, ah…” Monster Kid had seemed as though he wanted to respond, but trialed off. He looked down at the planks making up the bridge. “...I’m not supposed to be here, I know, but… I need to ask you something.” There was an awkward pause. Monster Kid looked up, wearing a nervous grin. “Man, I’ve never had to ask anyone this before…” 

“What is it?” The human, Chara, asked. 

“Yo… you’re the human, right?” Monster Kid stalled. 

“I am,” Chara confirmed. 

Monster Kid laughed nervously. “Haha. Man! I knew it!” His grin faded. “I mean… you told me... “ His gaze fell to the planks again. “...Undyne told me to stay away from you.” 

Chara smiled drily. “...I…” They paused, wondering, how they could word their thoughts. Before they found a satisfactory was to do so, however, Monster Kid continued speaking. 

“I-guess-that-makes-us-enemies-or-something,” Monster Kid spoke quickly. 

Chara responded, not even thinking. “Humans-- humans are… Humans are violent, disgusting, and you have good reason to hate them.” they paused, inhaling. “However, I am not like that. Do not associate me with them.” 

Monster Kid closed his eyes. “C-can you please… Say something mean so I can hate you?” 

Chara’s eyes widened. “Absolutely not.” 

Monster Kid gave them a tortured look. “So I have to do it? Uh…” He thought. “Here goes nothing… I… I hate your guts.” 

“Ridiculous,” Chara said without missing a beat. 

Monster Kid’s expression fell further. It warped into something that could be desperately trying to pass for a grin. “You’re right…” It stopped trying. “Man, I’m… I’m such a turd…” 

Chara was unsure what to say. They had never been particularly good at cheering others up. 

That had always been him. 

“I’m… Going to go home now…” Monster Kid muttered. Chara nodded, sullenly. 

...Maybe that was better. Maybe he would’ve been just a distraction. 

They thought a few moments. 

...He would not have been. He made them… made them feel determined. 

Even if he was not exactly like Asriel, Asriel set a rather high bar. 

And it was not as if Monster Kid was the only one there on the bridge who disliked humanity. Chara could most certainly understand. Even if they were sure their hate was a bit more… personal. 

They decided to speak up. “Wai--” 

Monster Kid, surprised by the sudden noise, tripped, slipping off the bridge. He just barely avoided falling by chomping onto the bridge with his mouth. He let out a distressed noise. 

Chara immediately grabbed him by his sweater, trying to haul him up. Their grip slipped slightly when they realized Undyne had arrived, and was standing in very close proximity to them. 

But they couldn’t run, because they were still holding Monster Kid, he was still off-balanced. 

Out of the corner of their eye, they could see her approaching. 

They finished hauling Monster Kid up, placing their hands on his shoulders to steady him. 

They could hear her boots on the bridge, still approaching. 

A half-second passed and Monster Kid pushed past his friend, standing between them and Undyne. Chara tugged at his sweater, trying to signal to him that they should get behind them. He ignored them. 

“H… hey… Yo, Un-undyne!” Monster Kid got out, trying to puff up his chest to look intimidating. “If… If you want to hurt my friend, you need to get through me!” 

“Do not be foolish, I--” Chara began. 

“No! I…” He let out a huff of air. “Just… Just back off dude!” 

Undyne observed the two kids, before turning and leaving. 

Monster Kid immediately faced Chara, tears glittering at the corners of his eyes. “D-dude--” 

“Do _not_ be foolish!” Chara repeated. “Humans, regretfully, are superior to monsters in terms of fighting. This is not something I would normally celebrate, however this is one of the few situations in which it may prove useful, as it allows me to be more likely to survive Undyne’s wrath than y--” 

“ _No._ Yo, be quiet for a bit I-- I _need_ to say this!” Monster Kid yelled. 

Chara shut up, while Monster Kid inhaled. “...Dude, I’m so sorry I… I’m sorry I thought we couldn’t be friends! I mean… You seemed really really c-cool before, even if I didn’t know what kinda monster you were, you just… I don’t have a lot of friends, and I thought since you were new I could show you around and help you out and show off and you’d think _I_ was cool and we could be friends, and I thought we _were_ and…” The tears began to stream down his face. “A-a-and I wanted to be friends b-but we’re told… Humans are crazy dangerous! Like first lesson in Monster School! The humans killed the king’s royal children! A-and, and the Yellow human was a long time ago but they killed so many monsters because none of the monsters knew just how dangerous humans could be, and they were as bad but Orange and Blue killed monsters too and everyone knows how--” 

Chara was unsure what to say. They opened their arms hesitantly, and Monster Kid collapsed into their sweater, sobbing. 

“I’m… I’m sorry… Y-you didn’t kill me before, I dunno why I thought you’d be not my friend anymore but… But I just remembered all that and I got scared and confused and…” 

“...I know,” Chara muttered. “I suppose we’re… we’re _friends._ Friends… forgive each other.” 

They stayed there like that, until Monster Kid eventually stopped crying. 

“H-hey… Dude, I never told ya my name, did I?” Monster Kid tried to grin. “I’m Py!” 

“It is nice to meet you, Py,” Chara responded. 

“I should… I should go home…” Py sighed. “My parents are gonna be worried sick about me!” 

“Wait,” Chara said. Py looked at them curiously. 

Chara thought a few moments. “...I am going to go to New Home. To see the King, and to find a way to destroy the Barrier. Tomorrow… Would you like to join me?” 

Py’s face lit up, before the expression faltered slightly. “I, uh… I gotta ask my parent first…” 

Chara nodded. “...It would be nice… if you could, that is,” they spoke, trailing off. 

Py smiled. “It would. I’ll ask.” He turned around and ran off, not slipping this time. 

Chara closed their eyes. Having someone they knew was a friend, for the first time since they returned… 

It filled them with Determination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I started writing Triad, it was because I had questions, that no fanfic I had read to that point had answered for me.   
> Why would Frisk go on a Genocide run? I don't care had mind-numbingly bored you are, you don't systematically murder your friends and family unless you're majorly messed up in the head. So why would Frisk be so kind on the Pacifist run? It's so much harder than the Genocide run at some points.   
> If Chara was a serial killer, why would they even consider the Pacifist run in the first place? Why would they bring down the Barrier in the first place? They allow monsters to spread out across the globe! They'll need money to buy plane tickets to hunt all the monsters down again! They'd risk humans witnessing their crimes and killing or locking them up! And LV is literally just how numb you are to killing, it does NOT effect your physical state! Chara, no matter how determined, would just be an angry, psychopathic _toddler_ with a knife. Against adult humans. With guns.   
>  I decided to answer these questions on my own, since all the fics I had read up to that point had not answered my questions to my satisfaction.   
> You can see my answers in this fic. And they've been hinted at the entire time.


	18. Genocide 3.1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a side-note, the song My Eyes from Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog sums up the entire Waterfall arc rather well. 
> 
> In other news I discovered the song Cell Block Tango from Chicago and I'm just kind of listening to it on repeat.

**Triad  
Arc 3: Waterfall   
Part 1**

_Genocide_

The human stumbled into the tunnels, sullen and quiet. The moment that they saw flowing water, they rushed towards it, trying desperately to get all the dust off their hands and out of their hair and clothes. The attempt left them soaking wet, but they didn’t care anymore. 

It didn’t work. It didn’t do anything to ease their conscience. 

...There was someone else. A reptile, yellow scales, yellow and darker yellow shirt, about as tall as they were… 

They didn’t want to talk to him. If they had killed both Toriel and Papyrus without meaning to then, well… 

Nobody was safe, were they? 

They hurried out of that chamber. 

They stepped as quickly and silently as they could. They weren’t quite sure what they would do if they came across another Monster. 

It was only when they came across a patch of grass, in a very dim part of the cavern, that they stopped. And _that_ was mainly because they had seen… _it._

Whatever it was was in some very tough looking armor. 

...They felt uncomfortable. 

The human tried inching away, but that made the grass rustle, and the figure immediately whirled around. 

Its armor clanked noisily as it stepped forwards. 

And then it summoned a gleaming cyan spear. 

The human, for a brief moment, contemplated running out of the grass and getting hit by it. 

...No. 

They couldn’t do that. 

They were too determined. 

They slowly sank to their knees, eyes fixed on the shining point. 

A second passed. 

And another. 

It allowed the spear to dissipate. 

And it backed away into shadows. 

The human couldn’t breathe. They hit their chest as hard as they could with their stick, and then inhaled sharply. Then they were breathing too fast. They pressed their fingernails into their palms until they could get their breathing to slow down. 

...It made sense. 

They’d done bad things. If that was Undyne… then she was probably here to punish them for it. 

Inside, they realized they had been waiting for this… They thought Flowey would be doing it, though. 

After killing Toriel, they had felt so sick and guilty. And they had kept killing anyways. And after killing Papyrus… They just felt numb. 

When you did something bad, you were supposed to feel bad too. 

This was punishment for doing that, and not feeling anything. 

...They couldn’t accept it, though. 

Their fear of death filled them with determination. 

They stepped out of the grass… Only for that kid from before to step out after them, all starry-eyed and awestruck. That reptilian armless one. 

The human stepped away, stick raised. They didn’t feel fear, or anger… It was almost on instinct. 

It was just something that they felt they were supposed to do. 

“ _Yo!_ ” Monster Kid chirped, paddling his feet excitedly. “Did ya see the way she was staring at ya? That… was AWESOME!! I’m sooooooo jealous! She was just standing there and waiting _forever_ and then--!! THEN!!” Monster Kid gasped. “C’mon! Let’s go watch her beat up some bad guys!” He dashed away at an unsafe speed, which caused him to faceplant. This apparently didn’t faze him at all, though, as he immediately got up and raced away again at the exact same speed. 

The human gripped their stick tightly with their left hand, gripping their left sweater sleeve with their right hand. In the next area, there was a strange sight… 

...Then again, they should be no stranger to those kinds of things, since falling down here. 

Four flowers bloomed in the water, created a strange kind of bridge. The human peered into the water to judge how deep it was. 

...They hadn’t really looked at themself in the water before, but now they noticed it… Their cheeks were starting to show. Maybe they had washed themself a bit too much before… 

...It didn’t look too shallow, though. So they tested the flower… 

And even when the human put their full weight onto the flower, it held. They walked forwards, testing each bloom with their stick before stepping onto it. 

They continued making their way through the twisting caves. They barely gave a thought to slaughtering the monster they encountered. It was a reflex. Something… they just did. 

They that those bridge flowers were always in the exact place they were needed was very convenient. They offhandedly wondered if the monsters in the caverns gardened the flowers in those spots on purpose for convenience. 

They entered another small passage. A plaque on the wall declared it to be the ‘Wishing Room’. Scattered throughout it were beautiful luminescent flowers, petals and stems softly radiating cyan blue light. The petals seemed to grow in a way that created a cup. It bathed the entire area in an eerie and haunting light. The human turned to glimpse over their shoulder, half expecting a ghost to be behind them. The room’s mood was certainly creepy enough for that. Then they looked upwards, and slowly sucked in a breath. 

They remembered faintly seeing stars in Snowdin, before they passed out and woke up in Papyrus’ shed. Or, not really stars, but crystal shards they could pretend were stars. 

There were crystalline shards here, too, and they _shone._

It was so quiet. They human barely realized they had slumped to the muddy floor as they watched the false stars. 

Even when they realized it, they didn’t get up. They just felt tired, and drained. Remembering their encounter with that armored figure… Now they couldn’t find the energy to even be afraid, or have a sense of urgency. 

Maybe the fact that they felt this was their punishment contributed to that. 

When they finally did get up, they shuffled vacantly onwards. They noticed the telescope in the room, but once their eyes left it they didn’t pay it any more heed. They wandered out of that particular chamber, and felt their shoes hit the wood of a sturdy dock, creating echoes of footsteps. Slowly moving water whispered softly nearby. 

The human noticed something different in this chamber. The walls on the other side of the room had some strange sort of plaque, bordered by the glowing crystalline shards. They looked along the wall, from left to right… There were multiple plaques. 

A story? 

They trudged up to what they assumed to be the first plaque. It was very old, and the traced their fingers along the engraved words to try and get all the dust that had settled in it over the years out. They squinted at the words. 

“The War of Humans and Monsters.” 

...The human walked towards the next plaque, curious. They allowed their hand to trace across the stony nooks and crannies of the wall, and their stick to drag against the wooden dock. 

“Why did the humans attack? Indeed, it seemed they had nothing to fear. Humans are unbelievably strong. Indeed, it would take the Soul of nearly every monster just to equal the power of a single human Soul.” 

Next… 

“But humans have one weakness, ironically, it is the strength of their Soul. Its power allows it to persist outside of the human body, even after death.” 

“If a monster defeats a human, they can take its Soul. A monster with a human Soul… A horrible beast with unfathomable power.” 

...The next plaque had no words. Just a picture of a strange creature that sent chills up the human’s spine. 

They pushed themself away from the wall, walking swiftly away from the plaque. The picture. And into inky blackness. They used their stick to navigate it, tapping it ahead of them to make sure they were _really_ going to step on to sturdy docking, instead of falling. 

If they fell again, they may end up somewhere even worse. 

...If they fell again, they may end up some _one_ even worse. 

On second thought, that was a silly fear. They were the worst they could be. 

Soon enough they entered the light. They walked forwards… And stopped suddenly, a blazing cyan spearshaft quivering inches from their nose. They looked about wildly for its source, and were shocked to find the moment they had looked away, the spear had vanished again. Had they just imagined it? Were they going crazy? Or…? 

They looked around again, and this time locked gazes with… That armored figure. 

That knight. 

Fear, adrenaline, and an overwhelming urge to _flee_ to survive and _live_ , coursed through their veins. 

So they did. 

They didn’t bother tapping to discern what planks were safe to step on, the human simply began running. Their legs seemed to be imbued with a new power allowing them access to boundless energy. Energy that they would desperately need, as more cyan spears were flying towards them. 

One nailed them in the ankle, and they let out a pained gasp, before continuing to run. If they paused from the pain, two things would probably occur. Either they’d be in a lot more pain in a split second… Or they’d never feel pain again. 

...Perhaps that second option wasn’t as bad as it first seemed. 

They weren’t human. They were worse than a monster. 

Maybe it would be better if they just vanished. 

However, even if they did truly wish to commit to that course of action, while they were thinking their survival instincts had completely hijacked their body. Careening at such a speed that they were almost flying, with complete disregard for bumps or bruises that they may obtain. 

After all, there was a good chance they may sustain an injury _far_ worse than a bump or bruise if they didn’t keep up this pace. 

Bobbing and weaving. Jumping and rolling. They weren’t even winded, which they were glad for, because there was no time at all to catch their breath. 

In an odd way, they were also somewhat grateful for the spears, as they were a wonderful source of light. 

Then suddenly that source of light was gone, as they dodged into a patch of tall, wild grass. Their foot hit an unseen stone, and they fell face first into mud and crushed grass blades. 

All their exhaustion suddenly caught up with them. They stayed, huddled in the grass, trying to gasp for air as quietly as they possibly could. 

And then when they heard clanking metal and heavy footsteps crushing grass, they stopped breathing entirely. 

The knight grew close. Far _too_ close. 

They thrust out an arm, which went far over the human’s head, grabbing something else? And from the grass, they pulled out that monster kid from before. 

Still, the human did not breathe. 

The knight stomped off. The human slowly exhaled as silently as they dared, and proceeded to crawl out from the grass. 

When they were fully clear, just as they were about to stand up, the monster kid raced out of the foliage and collided with the human, causing both to fall to the ground. Monster kid proceeded to scramble to his feet with surprising speed. He beamed at the human. 

“Yo, did ya see that!?” he yelled, excitedly. “Undyne ju--just _TOUCHED ME!!_ ” 

He appeared to be in full on fanboy mode. 

“I’m never washing my face again,” Monster kid spoke ecstatically. Then he seemed to notice the human again, and frowned. “Man, you’re so unlucky. If ya were standing just a little ta the left…” He shook his head wistfully, before perking up again. “Yo, don’t worry! I’m sure we’ll see her again!” He the proceeded to whirl around and dash away. 

The human then turned their attention to their ankle. Like the other times they had bit hit by magic attacks, it didn’t have a physical wound. But it still hurt. 

They slowly stood up, and began moving forwards. Leaning on their stick at times, trying to put their weight on their other leg, but still walking relatively fast. 

That knight might come back, after all. 

They were hunting for the human. The human really doubted they would stop hunting anytime soon. 

The human entered a chamber with a telescope and looked up, taking in the shining crystals attached to the ceiling of the chamber. 

Not for the first time, they wondered if it really would be so bad if they just sat there, and waited for the knight. 

A slight flicker flared up in their Soul. Determination. The will to press on. They weren’t sure why it was there… They were no longer in immediate danger… 

...Maybe it was just that they wanted to see the real stars one last time. 

They pressed on. Deeper into the complex of tunnels. 

They ended up in a marsh. The mud was black, and the water winding around the muddy islets was almost luminescent, a bright cyan. 

Like the spears. 

The human was suddenly a bit more uncomfortable about this area. 

They tried picking up the pace even more, but the black mud simply sucked at their shoes every time they lifted a leg to take a step, making walking seem to be a massive effort. 

When they finally got out of the mud, they sighed in relief, and immediately noticed something. 

Another plaque. 

Curiosity gripped at them, and they walked over to it to read it. 

“The power to take their Souls. This is the power that the humans feared.” 

...The human kind of understood why they would fear that. What with all the monsters down here after their own Soul. They instinctively touched their chest. 

They continued moving, until they came across the next set of plaques. 

“This power has no counter. Indeed, a human cannot take a monster’s Soul. When a monster dies, its Soul disappears, and an incredible power would be needed to take the Soul of a living monster.” 

A memory of Toriel’s death drifted across the human’s mind. Or rather, right after her death. The human shoved it away before they could dwell on it. 

“There is only one exception. The Soul of a special species of monster called a ‘Boss Monster’. A Boss Monster’s Soul is strong enough to persist after death, if only for a few moments. A human could absorb this Soul, but it has never happened. 

And now it never will.” 

The human stumbled back, blinking. And decided to move on. 

There was a statue in the next chamber. And in the one after that, a garbage can full of umbrellas. They ignored both. 

In the room after those two, was that monster kid. He, unfortunately, was more difficult to ignore. 

“Yo! Ya can’t hold an umbrella either?” Monster Kid asked. 

The human began walking away, ignoring him. 

“If you’re walking away, guess I’ll go with ya, haha…” he said, sheepishly, before jumping up to follow. 

They walked in silence for exactly thirty seconds before Monster Kid began talking. 

“Man, Undyne is sooooooo cool!” he raved. “She beats up bad guys and _never_ loses! If _I_ was a human, I would wet the bed every night, knowing she was gonna beat me up! Hahahahaha!” 

The human decided not to remark at this. 

Exactly thirty seconds of silence passed. 

“So, one time, we had a school project where we had ta take care of a flower. The king--we had ta call him ‘Mr. Dreemurr’--volunteered ta donate his own flowers. He ended up coming ta school and teaching the class about responsibility and stuff. That got me thinking… YO!! How _cool_ would it be if _UNDYNE_ came ta school!? She could beat up _all_ the teachers!” 

Again, the human chose not to remark at this. 

Thirty seconds. On the dot. Like an alarm clock. 

“Ummm, maybe she wouldn’t beat up the teachers… She’s too cool ta ever hurt an innocent person!” 

The human did not remark about this either. 

They looked down, and began walking once more. 

…

…

…

Wow, one hundred twenty seconds! It was a new record! 

They were contemplating this miracle, when they walked directly into a ledge. 

They backed up and stared at it, contemplating a way to somehow scramble over it. 

Monster Kid grinned at the human. “Yo, this ledge is way too steep… Hmmm…” 

The human stared for a few more minutes, and began walking away right before Monster Kid began speaking to them once more. 

“Yo, ya wanna see Undyne, right? Climb up on my shoulders.

The human refrained from asking what shoulders, and instead did just that. 

Monster Kid winced. “Owww… Yo, try being a bit less rough, haha… Anyways, I’ll look for another way through! See ya!” 

Monster Kid dashed away. And the human walked off, finding yet another set of plaques. 

“The humans, afraid of our power, declared war on us. They attacked suddenly, and without mercy.” 

“In the end, it could hardly be called a war. United, the humans were too powerful, and us monsters, too weak. Not a single Soul was taken, and countless monsters were turned to dust.” 

...From what they had seen, that sounded about right. 

The human continued walking, and came across a rather gloomy bridge. They started crossing it… Only for a small cyan puddle of light to form on the wooden boards. 

And then there were two. 

Three. 

Eleven. 

Spears suddenly exploded from the bridge, narrowly missing the human. 

The moment that the spears faded the human was off and running. 

They then entered what was practically a maze of bridges, dodging the spears that would coalesce around them. 

They ran and ran, backtracking when they hit dead ends, and narrowly avoiding falling off of the bridge more than once. 

Soon it was just a single long bridge they were running along, dancing around the lethal lights. 

And then it was nothing. 

The human skidded to a stop to avoid going over the edge of the bridge. 

They whirled around, raising their stick up defensively as their pupils dilated and heart-rate accelerated, prepared for a confrontation. Their stick blazed with channeled determination. 

Slowly, the knight approached them. 

Their mind raced. Fight or flight. 

Fight or flight. 

They eyed the gaping abyss behind them. 

Even if this had been an area where a fight could have been undertaken… 

...They made a choice. 

They slammed their stick against the bridge, red flaring up and then exploding everywhere. And the boards… began to _melt._ The human’s end of the bridge became unstable. 

And so they fell. 

_I’m scared._

_I don’t want to die._

_I don’t want her to kill me!_

_It’s… kill or be…_

The human woke up. 

The moment that they realized they were on a bed of golden flowers they _screamed_ and leaped up, backtracking into about four inches deep of mucky water. 

It took them three minutes to realize that none of the flowers were Flowey. They collapsed to their knees in relief and exhaustion. And suddenly realized that they were crying. 

Then they suddenly realized something else. They were still alive. 

They weren’t quite sure why they were crying. Or what they were feeling. They couldn’t feel the chill water soaking their shorts and socks and skin, but they could feel the rush of adrenaline sagging and clinging to their Soul in the form of something else. 

It took them a few moments to recognize it. Resignation. 

They couldn’t keep running, or hoping for it to end. 

The next time they and the knight faced off, one would have to die. 

They slowly stood up, and began trudging through the water. As they moved, they saw quite a few haphazardly stacked piles of garbage, teetering slightly as they passed. 

While walking, they took their time. Fortunately, they did not appear to have sustained any injuries while falling. Apparently they had not fallen particularly far. 

They navigates their way between more towering heaps of garbage, and didn’t even notice the dummy sitting forlornly amongst them. 

...Well. They didn’t notice it until it, without any warning whatsoever, suddenly leaped in front of the human, splashing filthy water everywhere. If the human had not been soaked before, they definitely were now. 

“FOOL! Ignoring me!? I am a ghost that lives inside this dummy. My cousin used to live inside a dummy, too! Until YOU CAME ALONG!” 

The human frowned. This other dummy apparently hadn’t made a very prominent mark in their memory. 

“Not only did YOUR actions cause them to leave their home, but now all of their neighbours are gone too!” It began shaking violently. “Despicable. Despicable! DESPICABLE!” 

The dummy was so very made that it had somehow turned red. “YOU’RE THE WORST PERSON I’VE EVER MET! I’VE NEVER BEEN MORE MAD!!! GuuuuuuUUOOOOOOOOH!!! My mannequin levels are goiNG OFF THE CHARTS!!!!!” 

The human fell backwards from the sheer force of the dummy’s screaming. There was a bright flash… and the dummy’s appearance changed. 

The dummy bent down to inspect its appearance. “This… this feeling? Eureka. Eureka! EUREKA!!” It turned to the human, grinning widely. “Human. That moment of unbridled emotion. It allowed me to finally fuse with my body! I’m fully corporeal now! My lifelong dream, realized! In return, I guess I won’t stomp you. How’s that sound?” 

The world flickered and drained to black and white. 

The human reacted, leaping towards the dummy and striking it with their stick. 

The stick cleaved the dummy in half, scattering cotton everywhere. Then it all disintegrated into dust. 

It got up their nose again. 

They suddenly remembered the other dummy, the one it had been talking about. Something similar had happened with that one. 

The human sneezed, and noticed their reflection in the water. 

They were dirty and dusty and soaked. Bits of trash stuck to their skin and hair and clothes. Their hair was wild. Their blue and pink sweater was soaked. Their eyes and cheeks were bright red. They looked like an utter mess. 

They hugged themselve, shuddering slightly. They started wondering if they had sneezed because they were catching a cold, rather than because of the dust. 

They began trudging forwards again. Standing knee-deep in water would do them no good if they _were_ catching a cold. 

They waded out of the water, and onto solid ground, and sat on the ground again. They started trying to wring out their sweater and shorts, without taking them off., and trying to wipe the water off of their skin. Some way to get themselves drier, and warmer. 

They patted their nose, to make sure that their bandage was still there, and not peeling off. It had been waterlogged, and started sticking off, so they pressed it down harder so it would stay. 

They felt like… Like this was all different. Like they were different too. 

That they should try keeping everything they had come here with, because they were scared of losing what they had left of them. 

There was only one way to stop their changing that they could think of. They’d have to make a choice. 

Them or the knight. 

They stood up again, and began staggering along once more. 

They walked along, and saw what looked like a shop off to the side… 

...They ignored it. 

Soon enough they came across the next set of ancient plaques, they traced their fingers across the old grooves as they read them. 

“Hurt, beaten, and fearful for our lives, we surrendered to the humans. Seven of their greatest magicians sealed us underground with a magic spell. Anything can enter through the seal, but only beings with a powerful Soul can leave.” 

“There is only one way to reverse this spell. If a huge power, equivalent to seven human Souls, attacks the Barrier… It _will_ be destroyed.” 

The human stared at that one for several moments. 

Seven. 

They were one. How many did they have already? 

...Although. 

They weren’t human anymore. Did they even count? 

They trudged onwards to the next plaque. 

“But this cursed place has no entrances or exits. There is no way a human could come here. We will remain trapped down here forever.” 

...Indeed. No way. 

Like they had just said, they weren’t a human, were they? 

...Would a human do this? Kill indiscriminately, just because it was the first idea in their head? They wouldn’t right? The words humanity, and humane, books and movies and _stories_ about what it _means_ to be human. 

The human had, ironically, lost that along the way. 

They needed to be stopped. 

...They were starting to become unsure if they _wanted_ to be stopped or not. 

…

...They continued on. 

Now it was dark and gloomy. They were wading through muddy water again. 

It was so dark. So very dark. They stumbled about in the inky black before their foot accidentally kicked a flower. 

A voice echoed. “Behind you.” 

They turned around. The knight was there. 

They stared each other down. 

The knight approached, slowly. Menacingly. 

And then, for the first time that they could remember, the knight _spoke._

“...Seven.” 

The knight’s voice was serious, intense, almost theatrical. Filled with anger and authority. And, surprisingly… feminine. 

She straightened up, positively glowering at them. 

“Seven human Souls. With the power of Seven human Souls, our king, King Asgore Dreemurr, will become a god. With that power, Asgore can finally shatter the Barrier. He will finally take the surface back from humanity and give them back the suffering and pain that we have endured.” 

The knight paused, before the volume and spite in her voice increased. “Understand, human? This is your only chance at redemption. Give up your Soul, or I’ll tear it from your body.” 

They quietly informed the knight that they were not human. 

“Liar. This may be my first time encountering a human, but _no_ monster would ever do what _you_ have. Murderer.” 

They told the knight that they didn’t know what they were. But a human wouldn’t do this, either. 

They told the knight that their Soul was probably worthless to the monsters. 

The knight trembled, rage shining in her one visible eye. “...Stop your stalling!” She lifted her hand, a radiant cyan spear coalescing in it, and stomped towards them. 

They raised their stick. They needed to be stopped, but they were unwilling to die quietly. 

The knight charged, only to stop when Monster Kid leaped out from a patch of wild grass. “Undyne!!!” 

There was a very awkward moment and Monster Kid glanced about wildly. 

His eyes settled on them. “YO!!!!! Ya did it!!! Undyne is RIGHT in FRONT OF YA!!!” Ya’ve got a front row seat ta see her fight!!” He gave them a friendly headbutt, before resuming his glancing about wildly. He paused, a mildly confused look on his face. “...Wait… Who’s she fighting???” He gave both they and the knight helpless faces, hoping that one would provide him with an answer. 

None did. 

Instead, the knight grabbed him and dragged him away. Monster Kid let out a yelp, and began calling out. “H-hey!! Ya aren’t going ta tell my parents about this, are ya!?” 

They were left alone with their thoughts. 

They decided they didn’t like their thoughts, and so proceeded forwards as fast as they possibly could. 

The next passageway they passed through was beautiful. Strange spheres of golden light lazing about in the air, and pretty cyan blossoms sprouting from the water… 

...Lazing. 

They wondered what had happened to Sans. 

They had killed Papyrus, and never heard or seen anything from him again. 

...His brother had been very dear to him. 

Was he grieving? Plotting revenge? 

...Had he gone to join his brother? 

They thought that the last one might have been rather likely. 

They found another plaque at the end of the passageway. 

“However… There is a prophecy. The Angel, the one who has seen the surface, they will return and the underground will go empty.” 

Their mind interpreted that in two ways. 

One, everyone will leave and go to the surface, or two… 

...They weren’t an angel. Angels were forces of good. It was the first one. 

It wasn’t ever going to come true now, though, probably. 

They moved on. 

And stepped on to a bridge. 

They began slowing down, not wanting to move too quickly and fall off, when they heard a familiar voice and stopped. 

“Yo!” 

They turned around to see Monster Kid several feet behind them. 

He slowly approached. 

He looked terrified. He was trying to put on a brave face, but they could tell easily. He was glaring at them, his mouth set into a pouty line, as he tried to mask his fear with righteous anger, but his tail was waving from side to side and his knees seemed to be all locked up. 

He walked all the way up to them, until they were mere inches apart. 

Then he spoke. “Yo. Undyne told me to stay away from you. She said you… You hurt a lot of people.” He paused, and his mask cracked. He looked scared, but at the same time… He was trying to smile. Trying to smile reassuringly, trying to appear harmless and friendly and helpful and brave. “But, yo, that’s not true… right?” 

They said it was. His face fell, leaving just fear for a moment. “I-i… that’s…” He was trying to smile again. It was more like a fearful grimace. He turned to the side, opening and closing his eyes, trying to calm himself down desperately. 

They regarded him. 

He was just a kid. 

Then again, so were they. 

An idea crossed their mind. 

If _everyone_ was gone… No one would miss each other. 

Maybe they could be an angel. And angel granting merciful death, freedom from this place of despair. It wasn’t like the monsters wanted to be down here, if the plaques were any indication… 

Maybe they didn’t need to be stopped. 

Maybe they just needed to put everyone out of their misery. 

They told Monster Kid that everything was going to be okay. They hadn’t hurt anyone. 

He turned back to them, his face filled with confusion. “Wh-but--huh? But you said that--” 

It was okay. 

They weren’t going to hurt him. 

“That’s… that’s a…” He smiled. He was crying. “That’s a-- a relief! I was… You had me… Had me really worried there, man! But yo, hey… Don’t--d-don’t sweat it, it’s just… I’m not crying, I’m just… So r-relieved…” He was crying. “I thought, I thought maybe--” 

They raised their stick. He widened his eyes. 

“Y-yo, not funny! Th-that’s not a very nice j-joke, man--!!” 

It’s not a joke. 

He backed up. They advanced towards him. 

Hold still. It’ll be over soon. 

Your angel’s here to rescue you. 

“I-i-i-- h-hel--!” 

No need to panic. This is what you wanted. 

Freedom. 

Several emotions flickered rapidly across his face, before the world drained of color. 

He was trying to look brave. 

He failed. 

They swung their stick, blazing brightly with determi-- 

**23468**

The someone shoved Monster Kid away, leaping in front. The stick pierced her eyepatch, and horrible black goo began dripping out, sizzling along her left cheek. 

The knight. 

Undyne. 

...They were not going to be stopped now. 

Never. 

Monster Kid was crying again. 

“U-undyne… You’re… You’re hurt…” 

Undyne gave Monster Kid a toothy grin. She seemed totally unbothered by the caustic black goo dripping out of her eye socket and melting part of her face. “Hurt? It’s nothing. Next time, listen when I tell you to leave, okay?” Some of the goo dripped onto her breastplate, sizzling as it burned through that as well and onto her chest. She didn’t even wince. 

They stared at the black goo coating the point of the stick, right underneath the dancing fires of determination. 

No… It was not underneath them. 

It… it was the source of the bright red flames. 

“Undyne… I…” Monster Kid sniffled. 

“I’ll take care of this!” Undyne hissed, wiping some of the goo off with her glove, as the liquid burned through the leather and caused her hand to involuntarily flinch. “Get out of here!” 

Monster Kid reluctantly took a step. 

The another. 

Then he was racing away as fast as he possibly could. 

Undyne smirked slightly. 

They noticed dust lining the edges of her gloves and armor. 

“Heh. ‘It’s nothing’... No… S-somehow, with just one hit… I’m already… Already…” 

They stared at her, frozen, watching as the dust drifted out in flakes, and the dark liquid kept dripping down further along her armor. 

“D… damn it…” Undyne muttered. She didn’t sound as angry as she had before. Now she just sounded… hopeless. Wistful. Her voice was weakening, fading. She hung her head. “Papyrus… Alphys… _Asgore…_ Just like that, I… I’ve failed you…” 

More flakes of dust. White dust drifting like ash, like snow, off of the bridge. 

She was almost gone, before a weak, distant voice like an echo of the wind spoke up. One last gust as the storm slowly died. “No…” 

And suddenly, it reversed. 

A slight gust kicked up. Dust seemed to spiral back together, rushing and twisting and fitting back together into a shape it had memorized long ago, glued back by that same dark liquid. A snowy explosion in reverse, a small white and black tornado, slowly regaining color and definition. 

And that final wind’s echo spoke again. Spoke with clarity, and renewed vigor. 

They felt something stir within them. 

This was unnatural. This was familiar. 

This was their own determination, but not. 

This was _Undyne’s_ determination. 

They had been unwilling to die, but they had not considered that Undyne wasn’t willing to die, either. 

The voice slowly gained volume and strength, but there was a blazing fire, an undying passion running beneath it all the same. 

“My body… It feels like it’s splitting apart. Like any instant, I’ll scatter into a million pieces. But… Deep, deep in my Soul… There’s a burning feeling I can’t describe. A burning feeling that **won’t** let me die.” She grinned. 

She knew. They knew. 

“...If I fall here… If I fail to stop you… You’re not going to ever stop, are you? Not until someone stops you. And right now… I _know_ I am the one who _can_ end this!” 

Undyne made eye contact with them. And pointed a wavering, pure white spear. “Demon. I, Undyne, will **STRIKE. YOU. DOWN.** ” 

And it all exploded again. It scorched them. Brilliant, beautiful crimson and cyan flames danced, before revealing… 

Undyne. But different. 

Not dying, for one. With very impressive armor, for another. With strange red embers dancing about her empty left eye socket. And with a glint of cerise in her spear. 

She smirked at them. 

“You’re going to have to try a little harder than _that._ ” 

They raised their stick, glaring at Undyne. 

Red fires burned with determination. 

They lunged, striking her chest with their stick-- 

Three spears bloomed from their chest. 

They gasped, falling to the hard wooden planks. They felt warm blood oozing out. They tried grabbing at a spear, but it just burned their hands. 

Another spear shot into their neck. 

Everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had too much fun describing Undyne becoming Undyne the Undying, didn't I. 
> 
> This chapter... It was kind of tough to write. Trying to transition Geno-Runner's mindset in a way that made sense to me. It took a little time for me to figure out why they would want to start purposefully hunting people down. But I think I kind of figured it out?   
> They try to justify the murders they've done already. They've killed plenty already... And all the monsters left, they're longing to be free, and they miss their friends and family who have dusted, and they're terrified of this little human kid... In a place as dark as this, killing them's a 'mercy' isn't it? To be honest, I took inspiration from Munna, a character in Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity. I could go on for pages and pages about how much I love Munna as a villain, but I won't.   
> ...I seriously could though. I have before. If they fell again, they may end up somewhere even worse. 
> 
>  
> 
> ...I got off topic at some point in this discussion.   
> Eh. I'm still worried about if I got the transition right or not... 
> 
> I don't have the next Inner chapter done quite yell, and there's some bits from Pacifist I want to edit, so it may take a little while before it comes out.   
> Then again, if you stuck with me throughout that last hiatus, this is probably nothing compared to it XD


End file.
